This is How You Remind Me
by storm101
Summary: AU Youko Kurama was killed on a botched heist, and Kuronue thought he'd never see his friend again. Until Koenma tells him that he and the team are to track down a certain human by the name of Shuichi. Only one problem: Shuichi doesn't remember. YAOI, KxK
1. Prologue: death of a fox

Storm: Okay, this is just an AU idea that I had. i'm posting the first chapter at the same time. COMPLETE AU. I guess you could say that I took the story line and ran with it... heheh. Neway, Read and Reveiw!!

Youko flashed a quick grin at Kuronue as the two weaved in and out of the myriad of traps surrounding their target. The mirror was placed on a pedestal in the center of the room. The fox snorted. Honestly, nobles ought to know better by now…

"Careful," he warned Kuronue as the bat demon reached out to take it. He nodded, checked for any more traps while walking carefully up the dais, and then with a smooth movement swiped the mirror. Wheeling around, the two darted back the way they had come, the alarms sounding off music to the two thieves' ears.

"We've got this!" Kuronue crowed, he and his partner fleeing the scene of their most recent crime. Youko laughed alongside him, concealing a wince. He'd been wounded by one of the guards early on, a stupid, foolish mistake. It hadn't slowed him down enough for Kuronue to worry, so the fox hadn't told him. But now, the hurt leg was paining him, and he felt a little dizzy from blood loss. Putting the hurt from his mind, the two thieves escaped the palace easily…

Or would have, if Youko had not fallen behind, had not gotten captured… had not gotten killed.


	2. Chapter 1: New Mission, New Friend

_Yeah. That's what happened to Youko. So I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when my "boss" drags me to his office to tell me about the team's new assignment. _

I slumped down into my chair, glaring at the tiny toddler. Tiny toddler. Must remember to call him that next time I'm pissed at him. But back to the subject.

Anyway, Koenma was ranting about something or other. I don't know… I stopped listening when he said something about "fetching the bat mobile". Feh. Idiot. I'm not even _American. _

"Kuronue!" I jumped as the ruler of Spirit World yelled at me.

"Yes…?" I drawled, placing my arms behind my head, acting like I didn't care at all what we were supposed to be doing. Which I didn't.

"Are you even listening?" he snapped.

"No."

He sighed, bringing his pudgy hands up to massage his temples. "I swear, you're worse than Yusuke sometimes."

"I'm right here, you know," the _real_ Spirit Detective whined. I sighed. Oh, how often I regretted stealing that stupid mirror…

The Forlorn Hope that granted your deepest desire while ensuring that you'd never live to see that desire fulfilled. Most demons gave up on using it once they knew that the price was their very existence, but I was stubborn. Or foolish. Take your pick, I've been called both.

I still would've used it though. I would've used it to bring him back.

I shook myself roughly out of the past. The mirror had failed, it hadn't worked. Yusuke had stupidly donated some of his life energy, so _I _wasn't dead…

But Youko still was.

"Alright, as a recap. Obviously, the four of you have a new mission." He looked directly at each of us in turn. Kuwabara, or "Kuwabaka" as I affectionately knew him, the orange-haired idiot dressed in blue seated on the far right, Yusuke, the official Spirit Detective (the rest of us were just roped into helping out) whose black hair was slicked back into his usual style, was dressed in a green school uniform and was seated next to Kuwabaka. Hiei was seated next to me, and wore his customary scowl, glaring at everyone. His hair stuck up as always, and he was dressed in all black with a white scarf around his neck. And then of course, me. The best member of the team. I was seated on the far left, and wore my customary outfit of a black vest and black pants. (I had discarded the loose sarong after one too many "skirt" comments from Yusuke.)

"This mission is a basic arrest. We have found a demonic soul inhabiting a human in the Human World. This is a serious breach of security, and must be stopped. The closest we can tell is that the demon had died, but somehow escaped his ferry girl. I need you," here he glanced specifically at Yusuke, "to capture him."

"So why do you need all of us?" I asked with a bored tone of voice.

"If you were listening, you'd know."

I gave him a bored look. He sighed. "The spirit is an old one, a very strong demon. He might be difficult to apprehend. That's where the two of you come in," Koenma explained, looking pointedly at me and Hiei. "If he begins to fight, don't hesitate to try and bring him in with force."

I nodded. That was always my favorite part of the missions: the actual fighting. I think Yusuke felt the same way, judging by the way he was eagerly cracking his knuckles.

"This is a picture of his human aspect," Koenma told us, bringing up a live clip of the human in question on his screen. He looked to be somewhere in his mid-teens, and was currently sitting in a room with a lot of chairs attached to little tables with a bunch of other teenagers.

I heard Yusuke groan.

"What?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"School…" he explained. Ah. I turned back to the classroom with new interest. The teen was quickly writing in a notebook in neat, precise handwriting. His long red hair fell down in front of his jade-green eyes, and he irritably brushed it back with one hand in the process of raising it to ask a question. Critically, I eyed the boy, wondering how he could look so _human._Aside from the coloring, he looked completely normal.

"The name he currently goes by is Minamino Shuichi. He is popular at his school, and achieves excellent grades. He—" Koenma was about to tell us something else about this Shuichi, before Kuwabaka interrupted.

"Wait! I know that uniform! He goes to that smart school, Meiou, doesn't he?"

I blinked, and glanced at the glaring pink uniform. Koenma just glared at him, before coughing slightly, "Yes, I was about to say that."

Yusuke's typical grin just got bigger. "So we get to go beat up one of the nerds? Sounds good to me." Standing, he strolled towards the door, the rest of us following him with varying degrees of excitement.

"Wait!" Koenma called after him. "You should know who you're up against."

"Look, whatever name you give me, I'm not going to recognize it, so why—"

Koenma cut Yusuke off, admonishing him, "Even if you don't recognize the name, the species that a demon is can give you very useful information about how you should attack them."

For the first time since I had entered this damnable office, Hiei spoke. "He's not going to fight with any strategy at all, no matter how much information you give him. Why bother?"

"Well, the two of you would use it to your advantage!"

"Fine," I sighed indulgently, plopping down into the chair I had just left. "What's so important about this demon?"

Koenma glanced down at his papers, shuffling them a bit before reading from a list. "He uses plants, is extremely old, is devious, a thief, was killed on a heist…" I could feel my body growing colder and colder as Koenma continued to read out loud. It was a good thing I had sat back down.

"And his name's Youko Kurama," he finished.

_A _really_ good thing I sat back down, _I decided weakly, before blacking out.

* * *

(Kurama POV; next day)

_I had always considered myself to be relatively normal. Had. Everything kind of changed that day… _

As far as I knew, today was going to be a normal day. As always, I had showered, gotten dressed, eaten breakfast, and been out the door with about an hour to make the thirty minute walk from school. I was turning the corner toward the building when I heard a step behind me.

Then the boy attacked, almost slamming my face into the wall surrounding the campus. He would have too, if I hadn't stepped out of the way and let him run into the wall instead. While he was dazed, I wrenched his arms behind his back, effectively pinning him.

Thank goodness mother allowed me to take those martial arts lessons…

"I'm sorry, but I do not have any money on me. If you wish me to not report you to the authorities, then you will leave when I release you. Agreed?" I asked the black haired boy pressed against the wall.

He nodded, glaring over his shoulder at me. I relaxed, and he turned, still glaring. "Geez, I can really believe that you're a demon. You're strong. But I thought you were supposed to be smart?" he said in a cocky tone before rushing me again. Again, I stepped out of the way.

"_Demon_?" I asked, wondering if he was insane. "Demons aren't real…"

The boy blinked at me. "Oh, good one, act innocent. I know what you are!"

I almost started laughing at him. "Are you under the impression that I am demonic?" Looking at him more critically, I noticed that his movements were too steady for him to be under the influence of any illegal substances, forcing me to draw the conclusion that he was insane in the truest sense of the word. Sighing, I began to walk away. I had already wasted too much time, I needed to get to school.

There was a quick series of footsteps behind me, and I turned to meet the oncoming attack. Taking hold of the front of the green uniform, I neatly flipped the teen, slamming him none-too-gently into the concrete. He was unconscious when I left.

I felt slightly guilty for leaving an unconscious body on the sidewalk like that, so I dragged him back down the street to the alley between Meiou and the corporation behind it.

I finished my walk to Meiou, coming through the doors just as I heard what I thought was the first bell.

Turned out it was the bell to end first period, and I had missed my biology test.

I sighed. Today was going to be a long day…

I was sitting in my desk after school, making up the biology test. I easily answered the questions, having been reviewing the material for a few days. At last, I turned it in at the teacher's desk, nodding to him, before picking up my back pack and leaving the room.

I was only just outside the gates of the school when I was tackled from behind. Immediately, I began to struggle, but the man's arms were holding me very tightly against his chest. A deep voice was babbling above me, something about how he thought I was dead and that it was great to see me again.

Finally, slightly fed up, I slammed my elbow into his stomach, driving the breath out of him. At last, he released me.

Trying to stay calm, I said, "I'm sorry, but I have never been close to death at all. Perhaps you have mistaken me for someone else." I got a good look at his face. He was pale, with blue-violet eyes. He was wearing a large hat, had long, black hair and a long black trench coat on. I nervously looked at him, wondering how he could wear all black like that in the hot sun.

The tall man laughed. "Oh, come on, Youko, you remember me!"

"You must be mistaken. My name is not Youko, it's Minamino Shuichi."

He blinked, looking a little hurt. "Youko, you don't have to lie to me. It's me, Kuronue."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, backing away. "I don't know anyone by that name."

I turned and ran, wondering why I had had two encounters with insanity in one day. This was just too weird.

I skidded to a stop as the man reappeared in front of me. "I'm sorry," he said, all familiarity gone. "But you need to listen to me."

"What? No!" I shouted as he grabbed my arm roughly. I pulled at it, writhing and trying to force him to let go, but he did not free me. "Let go!" I growled, glaring up at him.

"No," he growled right back, swinging me around to seize my other arm. "Listen to me, Youko—"

I cut him off. "Stop calling me that! I'm not Youko, whoever he is!" I stepped closer to him to build up my momentum, then wrenched away, straining my arms. At last, I broke free.

I dashed down the sidewalk from the maniac, running straight to my house. I covered the thirty minute walk in ten minutes, and had soon reached the front steps. Fumbling, I quickly unlocked the door and entered it, shutting it roughly behind me. Breathing hard, I leaned against the door, surveying the living room.

I was scared. I didn't want to admit it, but I was pretty terrified. That man—Kuronue, he'd called himself—he'd been insistent. As had that boy that I had fought this morning… Were the two incidents connected…?

I laughed. Demons. It was all just too weird. There were no demons, no magic. There was a trick behind every illusion, one only had to find it.

But still… I stepped determinedly away from the door. The day had been odd, yes, but that was no reason to let myself be thrown off balance by everything. Picking up my discarded school bag, I marched upstairs and began the routine of doing my homework.


	3. Chapter 2: Stalkers and Sore Feet

_Imagine that your best friend has amnesia, and doesn't remember anything, including you or __their own__ name. Imagine that they hadn't seen anyone they knew in years, and so had started over, receiving a new name and a new life. _

_Imagine that you still have no idea what I'm going through… _

I stood on the sidewalk for a good fifteen seconds, staring in the direction Youko had gone. Silent as a shadow, I followed him home, trying to accustom myself to the fact that Youko hadn't remembered me. I sat in a tree outside his window, not drawing any attention to myself at all as I watched him write, occasionally glancing at a large book beside him, referencing what, I didn't know. I zoned back, remembering yesterday in Koenma's office.

_I had woken up to water being splashed in my face. Absently, I wondered what the hell I was doing on the floor, and then I had sat up a little too quickly as I remembered why. _

_"YOUKO'S ALIVE?!" I practically yelled in Koenma's face, barely restraining myself from grabbing his collar and hauling him up to glare into his eyes. Instead, I settled for planting my hands on the desk in front of him, hunching down to give the toddler my best death-glare. I swear he almost wet his pants. _

_"Y-y-yes…" he stuttered out, scared stiff. Good, he deserved it. _

_Yusuke, Kuwabaka, and Hiei all seemed stunned by my reaction. Well, Hiei was as stunned as any half-pint antisocial sociopath could be. I ignored them, instead growling at __Koenma__, "Why didn't you tell me?" _

_"We thought he was dead, but yesterday, the radar picked up his aura. That's how we tracked him down!" __Koenma__ said, on the verge of begging for his life. _

_I gave him one last glare for good measure, before I wheeled about and stormed out of the office, calling over my shoulder, "I'm not helping with this case, toddler! I refuse to!" _

I slowly came back to the living world, and felt tears rolling down my face. Angrily, I wiped them away, staring wistfully through the window in front of me.

_Why don't you remember, Youko? _

_Why don't you remember me…? _

Deciding that enough was enough, and knowing that his mother wouldn't be home until late (eavesdropping on telephone calls is indeed a wonderful thing) I jumped out of the tree and walked around to the front of his house to ring the door bell.

I heard his steps come down the stairs and walk towards the door. As he opened it, I placed my foot in the doorway to keep him from shutting it immediately, both a good and bad decision on my part. For one, that was exactly what he tried to do. For another, having the door slammed on my foot was not high on my list of "Favorite Things To Do".

"Shit, Youko, that hurt," I hissed, belatedly remembering why.

"I'm sorry," he said curtly. Bastard didn't sound sorry at all. "But after one finds a stalker outside one's door, they don't typically care whether they hurt them or not."

I could have sworn that his eyes flashed gold for a second. He must have been really mad at me…

"Look, I'm sorry about what I did earlier," I began to apologize.

"You followed me home just to tell me that?"

"No, I followed you bec—" I cut off. If he didn't remember being Youko, he probably didn't remember anything else about demons, either. Best leave all of that out.

Surprisingly, I noticed that the pressure on my foot was receding. He was opening the door a bit.

Also surprisingly, this made me angry. Youko wouldn't have trusted someone that easily. If I had followed Youko home, and not been able to tell him why, then I most likely would have experienced death-by-man-eating-flower.

But at the same time, he was looking at me with those wary green eyes, and I had to remind myself that this wasn't Youko… not anymore.

"Why did you follow me?" Shuichi asked at last, in a suspicious tone.

I stood there, stupidly. "I don't know." Suspicion changed to anger, and the door began to shut again. I refused to remove my surely-broken-by-now foot, and almost yelled at him again. "Wait! No, Shuichi, just _listen _to me, damn it!"

"Why?" he shot back, the door only open as wide as my foot was. Damn, that hurt. "You accost me on my way home from school, you follow me to my house, and now you don't even know _why? _Are you going to rant at me about demons, too?"

"How do you know about that?" I asked him, seriously.

"Some kid tried to mug me this morning, and said something like, "I know what you are"…" he trailed off, green eyes strangely haunted, then flashing with renewed fury. "Why am I telling you this? Leave me alone!" Again, he tried to shut the door.

Unable to withstand any more abuse, I removed my foot from the jamb. Immediately, the door swung shut, and there was a small click as he locked it. This, unfortunately for him, only served to piss me off even more.

"You want proof?! Fine, I'll take off my coat right here on the sidewalk! I'll probably get arrested for this one, but damn it—oof!" I was suddenly cut off as the door opened, and a slim arm reached out and yanked me inside with surprising strength.

I found myself pulled down, my face inches from Shuichi's, staring into smoldering green eyes. "Don't you dare start stripping in front of my house. I don't care what you do away from me, but you will _not_ disgrace me or my mother. Understood?"

Weakly, I nodded. God, this kid was just as scary as Youko ever had been. Then I fully comprehended what he thought I was going to do. Of course, I started laughing. "You thought I was going to _strip? _Good lord, Y-Shuichi," I corrected myself, still laughing. "Only if you want me to," I winked flirtatiously at the beet-red human, enjoying putting him off guard for once. He opened his mouth to protest, then shut it, probably not able to think of a good comeback, poor guy. Not.

"But…" I said, and hesitated. "You needed proof…"

He narrowed his eyes, immediately wary again. "What do you mean, pr—?" he stopped talking, and for an understandable reason.

I had taken off the coat, allowing my wings some air. Carefully, I flexed them, easing out the kinks that always came from having to hide them for any length of time.

The kid was staring at me, eyes wide, jaw working. "Breathe," I told him gently. At the command, he took a deep shuddering breath…

And began to scream.

"OUT! OUT OF MY HOUSE, NOW!!" I winced, sensitive ears throbbing under my hat from the loud yell. "MONSTER! STAY AWAY FROM ME! GET _OUT__!" _At last, I retreated, pulling my coat back on too quickly to avoid hurting my still-sore wings, and beat a hasty retreat into the darkness.

* * *

(Kurama POV)

_Imagine if some random guy on the street hugged you so hard you could barely breathe. Imagine that this guy, who you like, maybe even trust for a reason that you don't understand, suddenly denies everything that you believe is a reality. Imagine that no matter how hard you try, there's no feasible way to prove him wrong. _

_Imagine you still have no idea what I'm going through… _

Wings.

He'd had _wings! _

I sat in shock for a good fifteen minutes after the monster finally left. I believe that I was trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"This is impossible," I whispered to myself. "Completely irrational. There's no such thing as demons."

_Then what were the wings? _

"Had to be… a hallucination? I'm tired, maybe I was seeing things from lack of sleep?" Impossible, he had obviously known about them, too…

"Then it was a moveable costume. This is all just some elaborate hoax that these people are trying to pull. Maybe they're from one of those TV shows…"

There was a knock on the door. "I thought I told you to LEAVE ME ALONE?!" I yelled.

"Shuichi?" my mother's confused voice called back. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, mother," I told her, opening the door with a blush. "There was just someone bothering me earlier. A traveling salesman, I believe."

"Ah…" she said understandingly. "He must have been very persistent to make you so angry."

"Extremely so," I muttered. "Would you like any help with dinner?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, that would be excellent. Will you start washing lettuce for a salad?"

"Of course."

Going through the motions of cleaning the leaves, I wondered why I had lied to my mother. I never had before. So why had it come so naturally, so… _easily?_

I'd never lied in my life. Why did it feel like I had been for years…?

Dinner that night was a quiet affair. I was too preoccupied to initiate any conversation, and my mother was too tired. At last, the two of us finished eating, and I retreated to my room to complete my interrupted homework.

Lying in bed that night, I mused over what had happened to me today. Two different people that I was _sure _I had never seen before had told me that I wasn't even human.

That was something that would bother anyone, I'm sure. Also, one of them seemed to _know_me. That was just creepy.

And what was worse was that some part of me seemed to know him, as well.

I tossed and turned for a couple of hours, trying to lay everything out in my head. There was one thing that I was absolutely certain of.

I was not a demon.

I was not Youko Kurama.


	4. Chapter 3: Kidnapped! Stupid Dreams

Ch. Of course I didn't leave, even though he told me too. Stupid kid. He'd probably end up dead if I didn't watch out for him.

This was how I justified to myself why I was sitting on the tree branch outside his window, watching him toss and turn and finally go to sleep. I'd heard what he'd said earlier, about me being a traveling salesman that was getting on his nerves. Good lie, especially under pressure. I could believe that this might be Youko.

On a whim, I broke through his window silently after he fell asleep. I knelt by the kid's bed, and just watched him. "Sorry I scared you," I whispered. "I just want Youko back…" lightly, I brushed red bangs out of his face. Blushing, I stood and fled through the now open window.

Youko was the one who had always been good at the mushy friendship stuff, not me. But somehow, seeing him like this… it made him seem more vulnerable. It made me want to protect him.

Which made no sense whatsoever. I knew Youko could look out for himself.

_But Shuichi can't… _

Maybe it did make a _little _sense, then. I'd keep an eye on him until he could fend for himself against a demon attack. If—_when—_he started to remember, I'd help him out a bit.

I took up my post at his window again, guarding my unaware fox.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Kurama's POV; a week later)

Once again, I had stayed late after school to complete an assignment for biology. We were beginning our unit on plants, with one of the most basic demonstrations in existence: the classic "bean sprout experiment".

I placed the seed in the fertile top soil, and poured five milliliters of water on it. I situated the cup of soil in the row of other cups on the back counter. Since mine was the last to be completed (I had been running an errand for the professor when the rest of the class had performed this experiment) it was placed directly under the "sun"—a high power lamp that would shine down on the plants constantly.

I suppose I'd always had a green thumb, but it wasn't anything special. Just knowing how to take care of a plant usually helped you avoid killing it. Briefly, I wished that I'd been able to place the cup in a little less direct light, but… ah, well.

Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I left the lab, shutting the door firmly behind me.

Nothing happened on my way home, which was surprising. That black-haired boy from the first day had been attacking me most every morning, still raving about demons, and a carrot top in a Saryashiki uniform had joined him quickly. Their names, judging by what they would yell at each other, were Urameshi and Kuwabara, respectively. The two were constantly fighting each other, luckily giving me a chance to escape. They often tried to jump me after school as well.

They usually came off worse. Hopefully they've learned their lesson by now.

There was a moment where I could have sworn I saw a black shadow flit from one building to another, but I'm sure it was just my imagination. I've always been a bit more paranoid than most.

That night, I collapsed into bed, exhausted after the long week. Thank God it's Friday.

I woke to someone poking me in the head. I did not open my eyes, because I did not know who was doing this. My mother, on the rare occasions she has to wake me up, shakes my shoulder and calls my name. To my recollection, no one has ever poked me in the head… repeatedly… "Wow, guys, if he's supposed to be this big bad demon, why does he look so _human?" _

That was, as they say, the straw that broke the camel's back. My hands shot up, seizing the offender's arm, and _twisted_, sending him face forward into something, judging by the muffled "oof" that was the result. The expression on my face not changing, I opened my eyes and sat up, saying quite calmly, "It would be appreciated if you did not continue to prod my head."

Looking to the left, I saw the carrot top that had been attacking me daily for the past week. Kuwabara, I believe. Glancing behind the couch, which was the "something" he had plowed into, I noticed Urameshi, and a much smaller boy who just glared at me with red eyes. I ignored him, instead turning to Urameshi.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"Because you're a demon."

"Is your ability to delude yourself really that great?" I wondered out loud. This drew a snicker from the fellow clad in back.

"Huh?" Urameshi was just confused.

"Basically, he denied being Youko," the shorter said. Translation accomplished, he sat back to watch the results.

"Yes, you are!" Urameshi said as if he had not needed a translation for perfectly clear Japanese.

"No, I am not." I denied again. When would he understand that _there was no such thing as demons? _I ignored the memory of flexing bat wings on a man in my living room.

"Yes, you are!"

I sighed. He wanted to have a childish argument? Perhaps that was the best way, seeing that he seemed to be so immature.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Yes."

"No!"

I smirked slightly. The best way to show a fool he was wrong was to beat him at his own game. "Thank you for finally agreeing with me."

"Huh?" he blinked, confused. "Hey!"

The boy next to him began to snicker out loud. Urameshi rounded on him, now. "Shut up, Hiei! It's not funny!"

At this point, a laughing Kuwabara spoke up. "Come on, Urameshi, even I could probably do better!"

"Somehow I doubt that." Hiei replied coolly.

"What did you say, half-pint?!" the carrot top exploded.

Yusuke stepped between them to diffuse the impending fight. "Children!"

_Hypocrite… _I decided, _But I suppose he means well. _I coughed lightly. "Excuse me." The three turned their heads to look at me. "Where am I?"

There was a slight displacement of air to my left, and a voice said, "Spirit World, of course."

I glanced to my left, and then turned fully when I found a toddler standing on the couch so that he was only a few inches below my eye level. I blinked, then turned back to Urameshi, beginning to wonder if this was a dream. "Please tell me that one of you is a ventriloquist."

Urameshi grinned widely. "Nope."

I turned back to the toddler skeptically. Critically, I studied him. No wires that I could see… but maybe they were using animatronics and a speaker system. But his voice was young… an imitator?

Easier solution: I simply hadn't woken up yet. What a _wonderful_ dream for my subconscious to give me… I suddenly noticed that there was cool air against the skin of my chest. I glanced quickly down. I was wearing what I had put on for bed, a pair of blue pajama pants.

I sighed. My subconscious could at least have given me a shirt.

"Hiei, go get him an outfit," the toddler commanded. I blushed lightly. Was I really that obvious?

"What makes you think I would, Koenma?" the shorter boy shot back.

"Because Yusuke needs to be present as the Spirit Detective, Kuwabara would get lost, and if you don't I'll extend your probation."

There was a moment of silence. "_Fine,"_ he finally growled. He stalked out the door, grumbling. After I heard something about dismemberment and revenge, I decided not to listen anymore.

"Now, Youko," the toddler Koenma said brusquely.

"I'm not Youko," I told him for what felt like the umpteenth time.

His eye brow began to twitch. "Look, everyone here knows you are, so can we just move on to the crimes that you've committed?"

"Crimes?" I winced as my voice cracked. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

Koenma rolled his eyes. "Yes, breaking into the vaults of Spirit World, resisting arrest, then fleeing to the Human World is perfectly within your rights."

"I'm not a thief. I haven't done any of that stuff!" I could feel myself starting to panic, and viciously forced the feeling back down. With an attempt at calm, I told him, "You have the wrong person. You are looking for this Youko, yes? That's—"

"You." He cut me off, beginning to visibly get annoyed.

Here, Hiei returned to the room. He threw a bundle of cloth at me, growling when I was about to thank him. Ignoring everyone, he turned and sat, leaning against the wall. I unrolled it, expecting it to be just a shirt, but instead, I found myself holding a full ensemble—a pair of white pants with a long-sleeved shirt made of identical material, and a long blue over tunic, made of finely woven, light cloth. On the front was a red stylized fox, and flipping it over, I saw a red rose in full bloom. It was a very nice outfit, and I quickly slipped the shirt and over tunic on. A red sash belt fluttered to the floor, and I picked it up to tie around my waist. I refused to change my pants in front of others, however.

"Now that your vanity has been satisfied," Koenma said dryly, "Can we get back on subject?"

"What is there to discuss? I am not a demon, and you simply refuse to even consider otherwise. So it seems the two of us are at a stalemate."

"Oh, really?" he asked, giving me a triumphant grin.

"Even dreams shouldn't be so persistent…" I sighed, beginning to become frustrated. "There's no such thing as demons."

"You are one of the most stubborn, insufferable, _blind—"_

"There's a simple explanation to everything," I interrupted, "One only need find it."

He glared at me for a second, before seeming to relax. "Alright, Youko," I twitched slightly. _Why do they have to be so insistent?! _"You know something about plants, right?"

I blinked at the abrupt change of subject. "I like to think so, yes…"

"So tell me…" he smirked (well, as much as a toddler with a pacifier in his mouth _can _smirk), and leaned back into the couch. "How big will that bean sprout you planted yesterday be today?"

"One day?" I clarified. "The seed will have begun to germinate, but there will be no sprout, and no full roots."

Silently, he pointed over my shoulder, smirk widening. I didn't trust him enough to turn around, but eventually curiosity got the better of me. There was a TV screen, and the picture on it was of the class's experiment. There was a row of cups that were full of what appeared to be just dirt, except down by the end, where there was already a sprout growing. It was right under the light… right where I had placed mine. I swallowed. Judging by the lamp, the bean plant was about five inches tall already.

"That's impossible," I managed to choke out. "It shouldn't have any leaves at all, it shouldn't be above ground…" I trailed off. I could feel myself starting to shake, and my eyes were stinging. Stubbornly, I forced the feeling back. "I'm just Shuichi. I'm not demonic, I'm not this Youko Kurama that you're looking for, I'm _just Shuichi…_"

"Ha!" Koenma let out a triumphant shout. "We never mentioned your full name!"

"What?" I had to have heard wrong.

"No one ever said you were called Youko Kurama," he said smugly. "You _do_ know who you are."

"No! No, I don't… one of you _must_ have mentioned it, I didn't know it, I swear!" My breath started to come in short gasps, and I distantly realized that I must be hyperventilating.

"He's telling the truth, Lord Koenma!" a new voice said loudly from behind the couch. For a second time, I was hugged tightly be someone that I had never seen before. He was extremely large, as he plucked me off of the couch. I began to struggle slightly, then more so as I noticed that the arms holding me were _blue. _I wrenched myself out of the creature's grasp, and flipped around to get a full look at him.

I found myself face to face with something that could not be human. He was vaguely humanoid, had large muscles, and wore nothing but a leopard skin loin cloth. He was also completely blue and had a horn…

This didn't seem to disturb him at all, and he took a step forward and reached out a hand. I took a step back. "Hey," he said, gruff voice gentle, "Don't worry about it, I believe you." He rounded on the toddler. "You're scaring him, Lord Koenma! Can't you see that he has no idea what's going on!"

"B-But…" Koenma stuttered. "He has demonic energy!"

"I don't sense any," said the previously forgotten Hiei from his place sitting against the wall. He didn't even bother to open his eyes.

"Impossible," Koenma scoffed, and trotted behind the desk and began shuffling through it, throwing several items this way and that. Among the deluge I spotted a fairly nice, gold plated fountain pen, and without quite noticing what I was doing, I snagged it and placed it in the pocket of my pajama pants.

Suddenly, the toddler was again standing in front of me, holding a device. A device that looked like it could single handedly take over the world. He leveled the barrel of… it… at me, and I began to wonder if I was about to die. It wouldn't be so bad, I'd probably just wake up. Still, it is rather disturbing to have a Doomsday weapon pointed evenly at you, with a red light shining in the barrel. Koenma pulled the trigger, and I flinched… and it _beeped _at me.

Anticlimactic…

Koenma was studying a screen on the back of the device. "Impossible," he said again. "But, a week ago…" he sighed, and looked at me again. "No demonic energy, and barely any spirit energy. Seems you're right, Y-Shuichi."

I resisted the urge to say, "I told you so." Barely.

"Sorry about the misunderstanding," he muttered. "Yusuke, take him home…"

"Will do." He grumbled. "C'mon, then." I heard a step from behind me, and the sound of metal scraping against metal. Something heavy collided with the back of my head (the hilt of the sword, perhaps?) and I blacked out.

(Kuronue's POV)

It's three-in-the-fricking-_morning_and I am looking for the kid. I go to sleep for five minutes, and he up and disappears! How the _hell? _

I had him right in front of me. He was sleeping, and now, I don't know where he is. He was here just a second ago, I _know! _

"Damn it," I cursed softly. I jumped to another tree top, trying to get a better hook on his energy signature. Then I realized that his signature wasn't even in the city…

I went back to his house, slightly dazed. He couldn't have gotten out of the city in the five minutes I was asleep. There's just no way that could have happened. Unless…

I flitted into the top of the tree outside his window. I glared down at the person who was attempting to break into the kid's house. Silently, I came up behind him. "Hello, Yusuke."

The detective jumped a foot, the body held in his arms jolting. "Kuronue?! God, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

I looked pointedly at the kid, who was unconscious and roughly cradled in Yusuke's arms. "What happened to him?"

"Well, you know that the whole mission was to arrest him, so we did and took him to Spirit World. He woke up, we talked for awhile, and ended up letting him go."

"And he's unconscious, why?" I asked, noticing that he was leaving out a lot and shifting from one foot to another. He wasn't used to lying.

"Hiei knocked him out right before we were going to leave. I think that he got on his nerves, he didn't believe a word we said, but who doesn't annoy Hiei?" He laughed slightly nervously, shifting the dead weight again.

"Here," I said exasperatedly. "I'll take him back up to his room."

"I've got it—"

"I'm a better thief than you, so I'll be able to move quietly. Plus, I'm demonic; I can handle his weight better." I watched Yusuke's face while his pride fought with his tiredness. At last, he dumped the kid into my arms.

"Fine… I'm too tired to think straight right now, anyway." He yawned. "I'm going home. Later…"

Momentarily, I thanked my lucky stars that he was so tired. Otherwise, he might wonder what I'd been up to and why I was helping him out. I leapt back up into the tree, picked the now familiar lock on the window, and slid through. The kid stirred once he was on the bed, but he only went back to sleep. I studied him for a moment. Spirit World had given him a martial arts outfit… if he didn't believe what was going on, he'd probably freak out if he woke up wearing that. I gently, so he wouldn't wake up, took off the tunic and shirt so that he was wearing only what he wore to bed.

He stirred again at the draft from the open window, and I quickly covered him up so he wouldn't wake. With that, I left the room and returned to the tree.


	5. Chapter 4: Mission: Manipulation

AN: okay, so I forgot to mention last chapter, but Chaseha-Wing, you were right in chapter 2 about how they hadn't mentioned "the Kurama part" yet, and that he was the only one to remember. ;;gives Chaseha-Wing Shuichi plushi;; I'd give you cookies, but I'm not exactly the best cook.

Neway, thank you everybody for reading! This is the best response I've ever had on a fic at this point!

(Kurama POV; next morning)

I woke blearily to sunlight streaming through my window. My head hurt… I rolled over and futilely tried to go to sleep again, but it didn't work. I looked at my alarm clock. Saturday. Good… I sighed and got up, pulling a t-shirt over my head. I stood, considering what I was going to do today, when I felt something heavy bump against my leg. Blinking, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a gold-plated fountain pen. After a moment of studying it, I recognized it, and the last night came flooding back.

I sat down heavily on the bed. _It wasn't a dream…? _

No, think about this logically. It _had _to have been a dream. I woke up without the outfit that they had given me, and I woke up in my own bed. Of course, if they had kidnapped me, then they would know where I lived and could put me back… but what had happened to that tunic garment? Did they keep it to convince me I truly had dreamed?

And that meant that they hadn't retrieved the fountain pen because they hadn't known I had taken it…

And then there was the headache that was slowly fading. It was centered in the back of my head, and raising my hand, I felt a bump. I _could_ have fallen off the bed in the middle of the night… Loathe I was to admit it, but it was much more plausible that, given my last memory, one of the people had knocked me out.

I felt a flash of annoyance. First, these people keep coming after me to tell me I'm not what I think I am, then they kidnap me, then they accuse me of being a thief, and _now_ they've knocked me out?! This was beginning to get out of hand.

And then my thoughts led me to a very disturbing conclusion. If it hadn't been a dream… then maybe they were right…

If the toddler that could speak perfectly normally wasn't a dream, then that meant that the ogre hadn't been a dream either… meaning the _wings_… I shivered, drawing closer to a horrifying conviction. I had been wrong.

Demons were real.

_But that doesn't mean _I'm _one! _I argued with myself. _Just because these people have accused me does not mean I'm guilty. _

_But it does increase the likelihood of that being the case from 'none' to 'possible'. _

_Mother is human. _

_But Dad died before you were born. You never knew how he behaved, how do you know he wasn't demonic? _

I paused. That was true… and that raised the chances of my not being human. I shook my head to clear it of these thoughts. With my dad as an unknown in this equation, there was no logical reason why I couldn't be inhuman.

_So I need proof of my condition one way or another… How can I do that? _

I stood again, my mind flashing back to something Koenma had said. The bean sprout. He seemed to offer this as proof that I was demonic.

I needed to get to school to find that sprout. I needed to see if it truly had grown five inches overnight.

* * *

(Kuronue's POV) 

I was shaken out of my sleep by the slam of the cursed door from the house below me. Glaring down at whoever had interrupted my precious nap, I saw a spot of red move more and more quickly away from the house. Wow, I must have been really out of it if I hadn't noticed the kid wake up…

I shadowed him for two blocks, turned to the left with him, and followed him for one more, before he turned right and started walking along an all too familiar wall.

I groaned. The kid was going to school on _Saturday! _Come on, Youko, don't you have any kind of life at all?

Right before he entered through the gates, he looked up at the school. Perched on the roof of said building, that was the first time I had seen his face that morning. He looked more than a little bit scared, but as I watched, his expression became more determined, and he stepped firmly into the schoolyard. He trotted up the front steps and tried the door. Apparently, it was locked, because he walked around to a side door, trying the windows as he did.

I was slightly surprised. In the week that I had followed him, the kid hadn't really struck me as someone to do _anything _wrong, much less something as bad as breaking and entering. _He must be really desperate… _I was tempted to go help him, but quickly changed my mind, considering our last meeting. That one hadn't gone so well. I still thought that the monster insult was completely unnecessary.

Beneath me, the kid found a small open window, and managed to squeeze through. I sighed, and settled down to wait. Now would be an excellent time to catch up on that nap he had interrupted.

* * *

(Kurama's POV) 

Remember how I mentioned I was slightly paranoid? I quickly found that in this situation, _slightly _doesn't begin to cover it. I was jumping at every sound, and flinching at the quietest noise I made. All I could think about was what would happen if I got caught. I had left my street shoes by the window, partly in an effort to be polite, mostly because the clunky soles were _not _good at sneaking around in. I'd always been able to be quieter than most, even as a small child, but there are just some things that you cannot muffle completely, one of these being hard soles on a hard floor. I had insisted on soft rubber shoes because of that, but they still made too much noise for something like this.

I shook myself out of these thoughts. _Now I even sound like a thief. _

I quietly made my way to the biology lab. There shouldn't be anyone in the building on account of it being the weekend, but better safe than sorry. Tentatively, I tried the handle on the door, releasing a breath I hadn't known I was holding when it turned easily. Again, as quietly as possible, I eased open the door and slipped inside. I busied myself for a few moments focusing on shutting the door quietly, then turned, bracing myself.

It was worse than I thought it would be.

In the video feed in the middle of the night, my plant had probably been about five inches tall. Now, it was over a foot tall, and had wrapped around the post of the lamp.

For a brief moment, I wondered if it would attack me if I tried to unwrap it.

I sighed. I needed to unwind it, replace it with a cup of soil, and try to get the plant out of here. Basically, I needed to cover everything up. I approached it cautiously and reached out to touch it, barely restraining a cry when it shifted _on its own_. The leaves rustled when I touched them, almost…leaning up into my hand. I gulped. Great. A sentient plant. Okay, I could deal with wings, I could deal with a bean sprout.

Gently, I began to try and get it away from the lamp. It clung to it, not wanting to lose the light. "C'mon…" I muttered. "Let go." I had the impression that it was shaking its head no, or would have been, had it had a head. "You'd be a lot easier to manage if you were smaller, you know that?" I asked, feeling a flash of anger.

Immediately, the plant disappeared. I blinked, and tilted the cup. There was the seed, lying innocently on top of the dirt.

I pocketed the seed, and replaced the cup under the light. I'd just say it had died when nothing came up. Perhaps there was acid residue on the beaker used to measure the water, from the chemistry class right after mine. I knew they were working on the pH system right now, so that should be believable.

I got the feeling I'd be doing a lot more lying in the future. I mean, I can't exactly tell my mom I'm not human…

I froze, remembering my reason for coming to the school in the first place. I shoved everything viciously from my mind. I'd think about it when I got home. Right now, I needed to get out of the school and not get caught.

I managed to get to the window and get out without any problems. I was beginning to feel tired, drained. Quickly, I made my way back to the house, where I collapsed on my bed. I lay back, placing my arms behind my head, finally thinking over what I had discovered at school.

So those people had been right. I felt a wash of relief. Somehow, I'd been able to get away. Who knows what would have happened if I had known they were right then. I doubted that I would have ever seen my room again.

But what was I supposed to do now?

Ignore it. I'd ignore it. I might not be human, but that doesn't mean I can't pretend that I am.

But it was all so fascinating. I wondered what else I could do. Remembering the way the plant had acted, I figured that those were probably my forte. I'd have to experiment on that…

I had a feeling of _something, _and when it passed, I knew someone was outside of my window. I didn't know _how _I knew this. Normally, I wouldn't have acted on impulses like that, but I was learning to trust my instincts more and more.

So instead of staying still and convincing myself it was nothing, I opened the window and called out, "Who's there?"

Silence.

"Someone's there, I know you are. You're in my tree. Show yourself!"

After a moment, a dark figure leapt down from higher up to stand on the thick branch next to my window. "Hey, Shuichi…" the winged man from earlier this week said nervously. I studied him for a second. The trench coat was gone, exposing his wings, as was the flat topped hat. He still wore one, but now it was what looked almost like a wizard's hat with the top ripped off. This allowed his hair, which was in a ponytail, to come through the top of the hat. Ears that were previously hidden were now shown to be abnormally large.

I gulped slightly, then said, "You're Kuronue, right? You said that's what your name was…?" He nodded. "May I… May I talk to you for a while?" He blinked, and nodded again. Kuronue settled down on the branch, and looked up at me, surprised, when I added, "Come in, then."

I stood back from the window, wondering why I was letting this demon _into my house_. The whole thing was illogical, going purely on instinct… something I hadn't done before. I bit my lip as I shut the window behind the bat. _Might as well see how this plays out, and see what I can salvage. _

I sat down in my desk chair, allowing Kuronue to take the bed so that his wings would be comfortable. The chair was also strategically superior. I wouldn't be able to do much to stop him if he decided he wanted to leave, but he'd have to get by me to get out the window and my mother if he wanted to get out the door. Somehow, I knew that he wasn't likely to go for the door. Again, I was trusting my instincts…

I studied him closely. I hadn't known him at all when I first met him, but now… he seemed familiar, and not because I'd seen him a week ago.

He began to fidget slightly. "What?"

I realized I was staring, and blushed slightly, looking away. "I believe you, now."

"About what?" he sounded surprised.

"About demons. There's too much evidence to be able to discredit the theory…" I glared at him as he started laughing. "What?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"Nothing. Nothing…" he looked at my face and cracked up again. "You just sound so _nerdy!" _

I felt mildly insulted. "Look, I have some questions. Will you answer them or not?"

"Fine, fine," he said, flapping his hand at me and _finally _containinghislaughter. "What do you want to know?"

I paused. Frankly, I didn't know what to ask… "You are a demon?"

"Yes," he said hesitantly.

"What kind?"

"Bat."

"Ah. I should have guessed…" I murmured. He smirked, but his eyes seemed pained. "What does that mean? What can you do?"

"Wind powers."

"So you can control the wind like I can control plants?"

"Yes. Wait, how do you know you can…?" I smiled slightly. He shook his head, smiling as well. "Crafty fox…"

"Fox?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Kuronue cursed softly, and I could have hit myself. _Always act like you know everything they tell you. Don't act surprised. _

He laughed again, surprising me, though this time I didn't show it. "Good job, wasn't expecting you to try and trick anything out of me. I'll have to keep an eye on you, then, won't I?" he said, looking at me. I blushed, wondering what he meant by that…

"So I am a fox demon?" I clarified.

Kuronue looked at me again, a little sad, a little surprised. "Yes," he said finally.

* * *

(Kuronue's POV) 

I was really… mixed up. I don't think there's a word for being overjoyed, surprised, confused, suspicious, and hurt all at once, so "mixed up" will have to do.

The kid was beginning to remember, or at least consider the option. He'd invited me, someone he considered an enemy into his house. I didn't know why. And he still hadn't remembered _me_ yet, although the way he kept looking at me made me wonder if I wasn't at least familiar. Thus, I was overjoyed, surprised, confused, suspicious, and hurt.

My head was beginning to ache.

I felt kind of sad for Youko. He didn't remember _anything. _He had to relearn everything, control, martial arts, fighting styles, strategy, manipulation, stealth, lying, and let's not forget the art of thieving. Though the kid was pretty good at strategy already, and could manage martial arts from what I'd watched of his fights with Yusuke and Kuwabaka. But the centuries of experience that he had lost…!

"What else can you do?" he asked eagerly. I almost laughed again. He was acting childlike, delighted with something new.

"You mean aside from normal human things?" I teased. "Well, demons in general are stronger and faster than humans. We have better senses too, though which sense is especially stressed will be depends on your breed."

"Which is it for you?" he interrupted.

"Hearing."

"And I?"

"As a fox, you'd probably have a better nose." He nodded. "Let's see… demons live for a long time…"

"How old are you?"

I paused. "I don't really know… birthdays kind of lose importance after a few centuries. I'm probably around… five or six hundred?"

He blinked. "Wow…"

"What about you?" I asked, both for the sake of custom and for my curiosity.

"Sixteen." He sighed. "Though with all of this going on, I'm beginning to doubt that. You seem to think that I'm someone besides Shuichi. And not just you, either, but Urameshi, and Kuwabara, Hiei and Koenma as well…" he shook his head. "At least, I think that's what their names are."

"It is."

"You know them?" he seemed surprised, and I realized that I had given away _more _information. Joy…

"Yeah… I worked with them for a while."

"You got fired?"

"I quit!" I said, defensively. He smiled slightly again. Okay, so he's _excellent _at strategy and manipulation.

"Why?" he asked. "You're not the type to quit something easily. You've been following me, after all."

"How do you—?" I stopped. His smile just got wider. Damn, he was _good _at that. But then, Youko always had a talent for being able to make me talk about something I didn't want to talk about, just by assuming he was right. Infuriating, evil, conniving, nosy…

"Why?" he asked again. _Persistent_ bastard.

"I'm not telling you."

"_When_ did you quit?" he tried a different angle.

That was probably safe… "When I found out what our next mission was going to be, so about a week."

The kid smiled that oh-_so__-_infuriating smile. "I see."

"See what?" I snapped.

"Was I really a thief?" he asked abruptly, changing subjects. I allowed him too, thankful for the respite. But that still left me with an awkward question to answer. I didn't want to _lie _to him, because he might start to remember, but what I knew of Shuichi's character suggested that he wouldn't like being a thief all that much…

"Yes." I said, adding, "One of the best."

The kid nodded. "Is that how you knew me?"

I was taken aback yet again. This was becoming a common occurrence around him. I didn't like it. "Yes." I said, determined to survive with some of my pride intact. He looked at me expectantly, just _looked, _and I added reluctantly. "We were partners. Friends."

His eyes saddened. "That's why you're so familiar," he muttered. "And why you were so excited about seeing me again that first day…"

I nodded, bowing my head.

"And why you quit." He stated clearly.

I looked back up at him. "WHAT?!" How had he figured that out?! HOW?!

"You said you quit after you got the new mission. The new mission was me, wasn't it?"

"You're vain," I scoffed, trying to recover.

"It makes sense. Urameshi and Kuwabara… you said you'd worked with them. You said you quit about a week ago, when the two of them started attacking me, claiming I was demonic. Also," he continued, holding up a hand to forestall my denial, "That's when you attacked me as well. If we were friends, and as close as you've led me to believe we were, I think you would have come to find me if you'd known I was alive." He paused momentarily. "I'm assuming Youko Kurama died, right?" I nodded mutely. "Therefore, the three of you must have learned about me roughly at the same time, I'm guessing when you found out what the mission was." He sat back in the chair, arms and legs crossed, smiling smugly.

"I really _hate _you sometimes, you know that?"

His smug smile turned insincerely innocent. "So I'm right?"

I said nothing, knowing that the silence would be enough answer for him. He smiled again. _Bastard… _

"Would you mind coming back tomorrow night?" His smile was playful as he added. "You can ask the questions that time."

_Was he flirting with me?_ "Alright," I agreed warily. He stood and opened the window for me.

"Thank you," he added.

I just nodded, and leapt into the tree, then silently onto his roof. He may be beginning to remember, but that didn't mean he was going to survive a demon attack.


	6. Chapter 5: Look! It's a Hiei!

_The gleam of jewels __that__ five minutes ago had not belonged to me… The feel of pleasure as my weapon cut through the flesh of the creature that had offended me… The __motion of running through the forests, hearing my plants sing__ to me in the moonlight… The shine of indigo eyes laughing in the darkness… _

I woke with a gasp, deep laughter fading into nothing in the back of my mind. _Just a dream… _I rolled over and went back to sleep.

In the morning, the incident was completely forgotten. I could almost convince myself that yesterday was all just some horrendous dream…

If it wasn't for the bean sprout using my chair as a trellis.

I rolled out of bed and stalked over to the twining sprout (no pun intended). Kneeling down beside it, I sighed. "Not again…" I poked it, still half asleep and not really able to think of anything else to do. "Come on, go away again" It shook, and I decided that I needed more sleep for this. That, and I think I was hearing laughter. I turned around, and blinked. So I wasn't hearing things…

"Kuronue, if you don't shut up, my mom's going to come in and find you, and _both _of us will be in trouble," I pointed out, stumbling back to the bed. The bat's laughter was quieter, but still present. I glared at him, then at the plant. "Sic him," I ordered it, before practically falling back into bed. Still too early…

And damn him, but Kuronue was laughing again.

(Kuronue POV)

He glared at me from a mound of covers, red hair tousled and green eyes angry. He looked like he was trying so hard to be intimidating, and he was failing so miserably… With a quiet, appealing (I did not just think that) whine, he threw the covers off and stumbled to the closet. I followed him, pointing out the martial arts outfit that the Spirit Detectives had given him. "Wear that. We're training today."

He looked at me, completely awake, finally, with slight surprise, but mainly excitement. "You'll teach me?" I nodded, and he grew fully excited now, beginning to strip to change, and then blushing when he realized that I _was _in the room. He grabbed the outfit and dashed into the bathroom.

I laughed again. "Stupid kid, not like I haven't seen Youko naked before…" I shook my head, reminding myself he _wasn't Youko._

He returned from the bathroom, fully dressed, brush in hand. "Where are we going?"

"Finish brushing that hair and I'll tell you," I shot back. The brush was laid down in five seconds flat. I blinked. "Okay… You know that park about three blocks from your school?"

The kid nodded. "Yeah, I used to go there a lot when I was little. I'll meet you there?"

I waved and dived out the window, flying through the trees to the deeper parts of the park, where I could be sure we wouldn't be interrupted.

(Kurama's POV)

I grit my teeth as I hit the ground for the _nth _time. I struggled to my feet again, staring at the evil, _evil_ bat. "What did I do wrong _this _time?" I bit out, feeling frustrated and just _pissed off _in general.

"Angry, kid? Good, maybe then you can _summon enough power!" _He yelled, walking towards me. "I didn't know you were this much of an IDIOT!"

"I'm not an idiot, you overly happy, practically high, ignorant, clumsy, _stalker! _You keep botching things, you have no sense of subtlety, style, or finesse, and you're too damn TALL! If you would tell me what to do and actually bother _teaching _me, maybe you would get some results!"

I glared up at him, hands akimbo. I had a sudden flash of loathing at the height difference, because I knew that there was no way to be as scary as I had been… I shook my head, and returned to glaring at him, taking a few steps back to lean against a nearby tree. He never used to be taller than me… I shook my head again. Where was this coming from? _I must be remembering more_, I mused. _Great…_

Kuronue blinked a few times, apparently surprised by my outburst (though I didn't understand why. I may be usually calm, but even I have my limits). Then he started laughing.

_Again._

"I didn't think you even knew what cuss words were, kid!" He said, basically doubled over laughing. I glared again, and then softened a bit.

"You have to admit I have a point. Can you _help _instead of just attacking me?"

"Did you know that lately, when you get mad enough, you're eyes turn gold?" he asked, flopping on the ground under the tree.

I sat, blinking, not nearly as angry any more, and accepting the change of subject. "No, I was unaware. Are they still that way?"

He sat up and leaned closer, looking into my eyes. "No, not anymore. Maybe a few flecks, but that's it. You're probably good. It's not noticeable unless you're this far away…" he leaned back, "So don't go kissing anyone and you should be fine," he finished, smirking up at me.

(Kuronue POV)

It's so much fun to make him embarrassed… I smirked up at his brilliantly red face. He coughed and turned away, avoiding eye-contact. We sat in silence for a moment, the tension slowly easing away as he relaxed again. In a few minutes his hand began fidgeting, petting the grass beside him, a nervous gesture that Youko had possessed as well.

"What's wrong?" I asked casually. The kid glanced over at me, not meeting my eyes.

"Nothing," he denied, his hand stilling.

"Come on, Shuichi, what's up? You can tell me," I wheedled. He hesitated, and I lay down completely, folding my arms under my head. "Who am I going to tell?"

He sighed. "Good point," he muttered, then sighed. "What… what was Youko like?" he asked, quietly.

I sat up, thinking over his question. "He was… intelligent. Scarily so, almost to the point of being _too _smart. Able to justify anything… he was a very Machiavellian person—the ends always justified the means to him. You could never get anything out of him, and he always hid his emotions. He was cold to almost everyone…"

"Except you?" he asked, looking at me with innocent green eyes.

I smiled slightly. "Except me. He was the best friend anyone could have asked for, _if, _and this was a big if, you could get him to like you. Youko didn't take kindly to screw ups or idiots, and I think he almost considered just killing me after our first heist… I tripped up a booby trap in an abandoned castle. The only things keeping the necklace safe were a few traps, but everyone was always scared to steal it. Youko nearly lost an ear on that one, but I just laughed and told him that maybe I could get him an earring for it.

"The piercing ended up healing, but I almost think that was the reason he kept me around. I didn't cower in front of him when he got angry, instead I would just crack a joke. He wasn't as cold as he eventually became back then, and I think I was the only person he would smile around…" I smiled down at Shuichi, banishing sad memories to the back of my head. "But I was the one who always managed to save the jobs he bungled. We made the best thieving team. Demons are still scared of Youko in the Makai."

"Why not you?"

"I went underground for a while, mourning, mainly. After I came back to the light, most people had come to regard both of us as dead, and I had lost my reputation. Don't ask me why Youko was remembered and I wasn't, I don't know. After that, I just wandered around, stealing whenever I felt like it. It wasn't the same, though… At last, I just stopped."

"Then how did you end up finding out I was alive?"

"Did they explain to you about the 'Spirit Detectives'?" I asked.

"I'm assuming they're basically a police force?" he asked, then paused. "Wait, you got _caught?_"

I could have laughed. He sounded surprised, a little indignant… almost angry. _He's remembering more and more every day._ "Kind of. I suppose I technically tried for parole. I teamed up with Hiei and another demon—an idiot, really—and stole three artifacts from a vault in Spirit World. One was the "Forlorn Hope", a mirror that grants the user's deepest wish."

"And no one had tried to steal it before?" Shuichi asked, slightly surprised.

I absently scratched behind my neck. "Well, the thing is, there's kind of a catch…"

"What is it…?" he asked warily, apparently worried about me.

"To get your desire, you need to sacrifice your life."

He stared, mouth open, clearly surprised. Eventually, he closed his mouth, then opened it again as he asked, "Then how are you still alive?"

"Who says I used it?" I shot back.

"You distinctly mentioned it first, you were leading up to something, you know what the price was, and you probably wouldn't be telling me so much about this Forlorn Hope if you hadn't tried to use it. How are you still alive?" he said, ticking reasons off on his fingers.

I chuckled slightly. "You look like a little kid, counting like that."

"How are you still alive?" Shuichi asked for the third time, beginning to glare up at me. I sighed. He wouldn't be distracted…

"Yusuke jumped in and ended up sacrificing half of his energy for me. It was very painful, feeling your life draining away from you like that. He saw that pain, and jumped in to try and take some of it away. Stupid hero," I added.

"What was your wish?" Shuichi asked curiously.

I had a sudden flash of understanding. I turned to look at him, shaking it off. "I wanted Youko to come back," I said, wondering if he would figure it out himself.

His eyes went wide immediately, gold flecks suddenly more prominent than they had been. "That's why all of this is happening, isn't it?" he asked softly. "I would have stayed normal, if you hadn't wished that Youko was alive. The mirror brought him back, or is bringing him back… It's making me remember." He sighed, bringing his legs up to his chest.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, truly feeling that way for once in my life.

"It's not your fault," he mumbled, then brought his face up and smiled. "After all, it might have been worse. I could have remembered everything at once, and written it off as a dream, or have been committed for insanity."

I laughed. "Anyway," I said, getting back to the original question, "You asked how I found out you were alive. I ended up working with the detective instead of being thrown in a cell for the rest of my extremely long life." I stood, dusting stray bits of grass off of my vest and pants. "Anyway, I think that's enough training for today." I started to take a step away, and tripped, falling flat on my face. "Oof!"

I looked down at my feet, wondering what had tripped me, and found that the blades of grass had twined themselves around my ankles and feet. I looked back up at my hands as I felt the leaves curl around my wrists as well.

"SHUICHI!!" I yelled, struggling and glaring at the giggling human. He controlled himself, and then stood gracefully to stride past me, patting me condescendingly on the head.

"Were you not just telling me to never let my guard down?" he asked innocently. "I'd say you need to practice what you preach, Kuronue." He grinned, and began to walk away. I could feel him strengthening the bonds, going slowly and trying to avoid using too much power, from a few feet away. After a few minutes, I felt him release the power and saw him start to run.

We spent the rest of the morning with me chasing Shuichi through the woods, effectively building his already excellent (for a human) speed, stamina, and stealth.

(Kurama POV- a few weeks later)

Every weekend from then on was spent in that park, training. I hadn't really remembered anything more, but I did seem to have déjà vu more and more, especially around Kuronue. There were moments when I could almost see the memory or the heist he was talking about. He was a difficult taskmaster, but he had a sense of humor and was an excellent, though often regrettably unwilling, guinea pig for my practice with plants.

And while it was true that I knew some about martial arts, I soon realized that what I knew was nothing compared to what Kuronue could teach me. I was never again able to capture him like I had the first time, but that never prevented me from stopping. He actually started helping me with my weapons as well, showing me how to hold a sword from what he remembered seeing Youko doing. I quickly discovered that his memory about his partner was incredibly accurate, even if I couldn't remember the same events.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to help very much when it came to actually _summoning _the weapon…

It was a few weeks later that we had a "guest" to our training sessions.

I was trying to concentrate on keeping the piece of grass in a blade form while still running through a kata that Kuronue had given me when I was abruptly attacked from my left side. I had learned quickly that the flash of _knowing _I had first experienced in my room that had told me Kuronue was there was accessible at all times, and I had figured out how to be aware of at least demonic energy all the time. Therefore, I knew that Kuronue was still behind me, and that whoever had attacked me was able to mask their energy well.

I turned quickly, blocking my right side as the flying shadow attempted a sideways slash from right to left. I caught a glimpse of surprised red eyes before their owner flit to the other side of the clearing. Once he was standing still, I was half-surprised to see that it was Hiei who had just tried to cleave me in half with the katana that was held in his grasp.

He grunted, and kept his eyes on me, completely ignoring Kuronue's surprised shout. His surprised gaze hardened into a glare, and he snarled, "I knew you were lying. Baka kitsune." He rushed me again, this time coming down in an overhead slash, which I clumsily parried. "What I want to know," he growled out, swinging his sword into a thrust at my stomach, forcing me to dodge to the side, "is how you managed to hide your energy so well that Koenma couldn't pick it up."

"I didn't believe you then," I panted out, frantically trying to _not get killed, _and hold a conversation at once, which if you think about it, is actually quite difficult.

He grunted again, slashing towards one of my legs this time. I leaped back about five feet. "I don't see how that makes a difference!" he yelled at me.

"I guess I'm waking up a bit more, then!" I shouted back angrily. Hiei ignored the retort, instead vanishing and then reappearing above me, swinging his sword down again, the weight of his body increasing the force behind the blow. I swung my sword up just in time to parry, and he landed in front of me. I pressed the advantage, keeping his blade away from me as I bore down on him with my greater height. Suddenly, he was covered in leafy vines. The bean sprout I had first befriended had attacked him from my pocket, wrapping him up easily.

(Kuronue POV)

I watched as Shuichi fought his first fight against a demon. Even if that demon was one of my former teammates, I wanted my student/friend to win more than I wanted Hiei to. I'd never really like the three-eyed midget anyway.

Hiei was currently entangled in vines, the same bean plant that seemed to be more sentient than most other plants. My personal theory was that Shuichi had accidentally given it more energy than it needed, and made it aware to a greater extent than other plants were. It was amusing, and slightly endearing, to watch him pet the thing while reading a book.

I wasn't surprised as Shuichi was when the plant erupted into flames. Hiei was, after all, a fire user. I _was _surprised to see Shuichi take a step forward and shout, "Miki! No!"

I promptly cracked up, attracting his attention back to me. "You _named _it?!" I gasped out. Even Hiei looked amused, or at least slightly surprised, before immediately trying to attack Shuichi again.

"Kuronue!" he shouted, bent almost backward trying to avoid the half-pint's sword, "Can't you help out a little?!"

"No!" I called back as the sound of steel blade on grass blade echoed through the clearing. Shuichi disengaged quickly and jumped back again, this time about eight feet. _He's beginning to move less and less like a human… _

"Why the hell not?" he growled, dodging yet another blow. He shot me a golden eyed glare, and I gulped.

"Because Hiei-chan makes such a good sparring partner for you!" I cooed, knowing that Hiei would soon attack me if I continued antagonizing him indirectly like this. "Haven't you noticed? You haven't had any trouble concentrating on keeping your weapon when you're actually fighting!" Discretely, I readied my scythes, knowing that Hiei should switch focus soon…

Instead, Shuichi blinked, his eyes turning green again as his surprise showed. Unfortunately, the blade chose that moment to prove me wrong and turn back into a simple piece of grass. "Kuronue!" he shouted, half nervous, half angry as Hiei's face split in a feral smirk and he closed in, most likely for a kill.

Sighing, I threw my scythes in front of his face, interrupting his advance. "I think you've got a new sparring partner, Hiei-chan," I said, voice deadly serious this time.

(Kurama POV)

I almost screamed when a flash of silver flew in front of my face before I realized that it was kuronue's scythes, and not Hiei's sword. As Hiei turned to face Kuronue, eyes flaring at the "chan", I gathered my courage and punched him as hard as I could in the temple, catching the limp body as he fell towards the ground. I carefully let him down, leaving him on the ground.

I looked nervously up at Kuronue, who had walked over towards me. "Good job," he said. "Knocked him out cold. And you did very well in your first fight, too." He sighed, and sat beside me. "I'm really sorry about this, Shuichi," he murmured, and I looked over at him, confused. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but before I could, his hand slammed into my temple and I crumpled to the ground.

When I came to, the sky above me was the wrong color. It was a blood red, rather than the blue or black I was used to. Was it sunset? Sunrise? I sat up and began to look around me. The vegetation looked completely different.

Something was very wrong.

Kuronue had knocked me out, and now I was in a place I didn't know. I heard a step behind me, and I flew to my feet, assuming a defensive stance as I saw a figure approaching me. It was Kuronue, carrying an armful of dead wood.

I didn't relax.

"Good," he said as I approached. "You're awake. How's your head? I adjusted the force a bit, you should be fine."

"I'm wondering what is going on, but otherwise, yes, I'm fine."

He set the wood down near me, and took out a match book. I turned to face him, still tense. He sighed. "Please, Shuichi, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You knocked my unconscious." I said coolly.

"Yes, I know, but it would have been hard on a human body to jump worlds."

I froze. "Jump… worlds?"

Kuronue stood up, and shrugged. "Welcome to the Makai."


	7. Chapter 6: Makai!

(Kuronue POV)

I could tell Shuichi was pissed. He just stood there, staring at me. "The Makai." I nodded. He sat down, knees giving out, I'd assume. "The Makai?!" He repeated, voice cracking.

"Yes, I believe we've established that."

"_Why?!" _

I sighed. He wasn't just pissed, he was pretty torn up about things as well. "Look, if you'd stayed in the human world, Hiei and the Spirit Detectives would continue to attack you, trying to bring you in." Shuichi turned away, sulking. "Oh, so you _want _to put your mother in danger and lie to her?" I asked, knowing him well enough to predict his reaction. Yep, he flinched.

"No… But what's her reaction going to be when I don't come home?" he asked quietly. "What's she going to think when the police can't find me?"

"Hey, it'll be okay," I said, doing my best to comfort him. An awkward attempt, but at least I tried.

Shuichi shook it off relatively well. "Where are we, specifically?"

Good question. "I think we're somewhere in my old territory—mine and Youko's. We should head that way to get deeper." I said. I didn't tell the kid, but I wasn't exactly convinced. Youko had always known the forests better than I had. Sure, I could manage well in the more barren areas, but every tree looked the same as far as I'm concerned… Another reason that Youko and I made good partners. We had good senses of direction by ourselves, but Youko would get lost in the smallest of caves. And me? Well, I couldn't see the forest for the trees sometimes.

I snapped back to the present as the kid nodded warily. "Alright…"

We set off, walking through the forest as Shuichi openly stared around him, noting every one of the plants with wide eyes. Occasionally he would ask a question, but we were mostly silent. Shuichi seemed to pick up on the need to be quiet, and began practicing his stealth. He was pretty good, looking where he stepped to make sure there were no dry twigs or anything before he put his foot down.

He wasn't very good at covering his tracks, so I went behind him and did that for the both of us after telling him which way we should go.

Eventually, I stopped as we came to the edge of the forest. I didn't have a clue where we were.

Shit.

(Kurama POV)

He paused in front of the tree line, looking around before setting off across the large clearing. "Kuronue!" I called after him.

He turned irritably. "What?"

"You don't know where we are, do you?" He glared for a few seconds, fuming.

"Neither do you," he shot back eventually. I sighed. Manipulation was a double edged sword—I'd managed to get him to admit he didn't have a clue, but the comment on my lost memories stung. Yeah, I didn't know where we were, and I knew that it would be useful if I did. The amnesia was beginning to grate on me.

I closed my eyes. Maybe if I blocked things out, I could follow instinct and get us un-lost. Slowly, almost reluctantly, a memory floated to the surface of my mind.

_"You always get us lost," I heard myself snap angrily._

_"Oh, and you're any better?" definitely Kuronue, and he was apparently angry at me as well. "You're blind as__ a__—_blind _in a cave__ as much as I am in the forest! You know that!" _

_"I don't know why I let you lead," I complained, bringing my hand away from my forehead where it had been pinching the bridge of my nose. I opened my eyes to see Kuronue standing across from me, arms akimbo. At his back was a very familiar meadow, and I knew that I was standing in the same spot I was now. I glared right back at the angry bat. The effect apparently wasn't as great as I would have liked, since my arm was in a sling made of a very large leaf. _

_Kuronue's eyes softened a bit. "Because you're hurt. If you were in the lead, you know that you'd be the first to get attacked if bounty hunters found us. Now, you obviously know where we are, so why don't you point me in the right direction. Besides," he teased, "you were so wrapped up in looking at the flora around here you didn't notice I had no clue where I was going."_

_I glared at him again, tail twitching. "So it's both our faults," I conceded. "We need to go west, or we'll head into Yomi's territory. I'd like to avoid him if possible, he's getting more powerful." _

I opened my eyes again, blinking in surprise. Kuronue was looking at me confusedly. "Shuichi? Are you okay?" I nodded distractedly.

"West," I mouthed, then swallowed and tried again. "West. We need to go west."

He blinked. "Shuichi…?"

I squinted at the sky, turned in the right direction and headed along the forest's edge. "Who's Yomi?" I asked over my shoulder. I was surprised to see him take on an angry look.

"Yomi? That bastard. He was one of Youko's old lov—" he cut off abruptly, staring at me. "Wait, wait just a second… how the hell did _you _know that name?!"

"Well, I…"

"You remembered something?!" He shouted. If he wasn't a male, I would have said he squealed. Immediately, he tackled me, shoving me to the ground. His mood shifted again, leaving my head spinning, as he sat on my chest and stared down at me angrily. "Wait, if you know the name Yomi, exactly _what _did you remember?"

"Standing in this forest after _you _got us lost with my arm in a sling. I mentioned that we should go west to avoid running into Yomi's territory, and that's the only time his name came up. I was curious!" I frantically explained, face heating slightly. From what Kuronue had said, Yomi and I had been… er… _close. _

Kuronue nodded once, standing and offering me a hand. "Good."

We continued walking for a few more minutes. "So, why don't you like Yomi?" I asked casually.

"None of your business," he said, still sulking.

"I think it is," I complained, "Anything could help me remember more, right?"

"This won't."

"Why not?!"

"Because it's none of your business," he said smugly, walking ahead of me.

"Come on, Kuronue! Please?" I ran around in front of him, then sighed, seeing the stony look on his face. "Fine…" I conceded. Maybe I could trick it out of him… if I knew more about what was going on, I would.

He continued to walk ahead of me. Both of us were silent, thinking.

(Kuronue POV)

_Why'd he have to remember _YomiI complained silently. _I thought that maybe… maybe it could have been the two of us. _I mentally sighed, then cheered up. On the one hand, the kid remembered Yomi. On the other, he _remembered. _If he kept this up, then maybe he'd actually recognize me…

Surprisingly, I wasn't sure how I felt about this. Yeah, I missed Youko, but I really… I was really starting to like the kid, if I admitted it to myself. What would happen to him if I did get my Youko back?

I glanced to my left, seeing a flash of red. It was a rose vine… one of the ones that Youko had planted to supply himself with his favorite weapon. I paused as I heard the light footsteps behind me slow, and then stop. I turned around, seeing Shuichi standing in front of the bush, planted at the base of the demon equivalent to an ash tree. He was studying it, with that look on his face that said he knew it was familiar, but he didn't know why.

I threw my scythes at one of the higher blooms, cutting it off near the base of the stem. He seemed surprised as I caught it and passed it to him, avoiding the thorns. "It was Youko's favorite weapon," I said, "I think it's time that you started carrying one as well."

He averted his eyes, staring down at the rose in his hand instead of looking me in the eye. Shuichi didn't manage to hide the blush, though. I smirked as he said in a voice that belied his embarrassment, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I watched carefully, a master grading a student, as he shrunk the blooming rose into a small bud and inserted it into his hair, instead of his pocket as usual. I turned away, hiding a bittersweet smile.

He really would remember me soon…

A few minutes later, I heard a surprised gasp from behind me, and turned quickly to see Shuichi enclosed in a cage made of bamboo. I instinctively took a step forward, and bamboo shot up around me as well, surrounding me. I took a step back from the wall. It was too narrow to slip out, even for the much less muscular Shuichi. And it was too high for me to leap or fly over. The tops of the bamboo were brushing the leaves of the trees above us, and there were several thick branches over head. Otherwise, I would have tried. I sighed deeply, looking at Shuichi.

"Well, looks like we're stuck here for a while," I said lightheartedly. That managed to get a small smile out of him.

"How long, do you think?"

"Oh, probably a few hours or so. Guards usually have some sort of alarm for when a trap is triggered. When they get here, we can fight our way out."

"You seem so casual about it," Shuichi said, smile growing slightly as he sat and leaned against the bars. I sat, too, facing him.

"Yeah, I've been through more than one of these. This one's one of the better made one, and at least the bamboo doesn't skewer you like some I've seen."

He laughed at my flippancy, not realizing I was dead serious. Back when Youko and I had had a team of bandits, several of them had died in traps just like this one.

The kid has closed his eyes, thinking. "Can you use your scythes to cut us out of here?" he asked eventually. "Or can't I just shrink them or something?"

I nodded thoughtfully. "I don't think so, but you're welcome to try."

"Why wouldn't it work?"

"Well, the bamboo usually is artificial, and has thin steel wires running through it. I try to cut through it, and it would just dull my blade, or worse case scenario, break it." I shrugged. "At least, if I were building the trap, that's the way I would do it."

He nodded. "Makes sense. I agree, too. And why waste energy, when there's probably several more around here?"

"Good, hadn't thought of that." I sighed, placing my arms behind my head and tilting the brim of my hat down over my eyes to block out the sun. "Wake me up when the guards get here. Actually, don't, they'll probably be loud enough to wake me themselves."

Shuichi chuckled again, and I drifted off to a light cat nap.

(Kurama POV)

I sat quietly, waiting for either Kuronue to wake up or the guards to attack us. I hadn't heard anything outside of the usual noises of a forest. But since this was another world entirely, I couldn't be sure what passed as "normal" anymore. After all, who was I to judge?

Clearing my head of these thoughts, I continued to focus on Kuronue. I absently wondered what he was to Youko, and what Youko was to him. Would he have done all of this for a friend? Demons were supposed to be crude, traitorous creatures. I suppose if a pair made friends, then they would be closer than human friends would be. Logically, at least.

I was still getting used to the fact that I was demonic. Remembering Kuronue's comment on my sense of smell, I hesitantly lifted my head to test the wind. I didn't recognize many of the smells, but most of them seemed plant-y. Carefully, I tried to sort through the different smells. The darker, smoky smell was probably Kuronue, and there were too many floral smells to distinguish one from the other. I didn't smell anything else, but who knew when the guards were coming? They might even be approaching from downwind, behind me.

I sighed. I really needed to tell Kuronue that I was able to sense energy so that he would teach me how to control that. Right now, it was just demon energy, and there was so much around here that sense was no use.

I sighed again, and decided to take after Kuronue and take a short nap.

I woke a while later as I heard a snap from my left. Listening, I picked up some rustling that wasn't from the wind, and the leaves of several bushes around us seemed to be moving on their own. _Wonderful, we're surrounded. _

Quickly, I glanced at Kuronue through my hair, not actually moving otherwise. He was awake, and looking at me from under the brim of his hat. He winked, and moved one hand slightly. _"Don't move. Let the traps come down__first." _I flicked my hand as well, trying to signal back, _"Right." _He winked again, and I guessed that he got the message. Slowly, he let his head drop again, and I followed suit, pretending to be asleep.

"Good," a gravelly voice said above me. "They're both unconscious."

"Heh, probably fainted from shock when our traps went up around them, eh, Saatchi?" a nasally voice said from the other trap.

"Probably," Saatchi agreed, and a series of heavy footsteps walked towards the other speaker.

I cracked open my eyes as I felt the bamboo return to the ground. A large red demon with fins for ears was talking to a very thin green-blue demon over Kuronue, whose eyes were also cracked open. Several other demons in uniforms surrounded us. All of them looked bored, and I patiently waited for Kuronue to signal the attack. I saw him glance meaningfully at Saatchi, and then shoot to his feet.

Taking that to be the signal, I grabbed a piece of grass, and swung around to chop the legs off of the nearest guard before leaping up as well. We managed to take the group completely off guard, and I killed a good seven or eight before Saatchi, who was clearly the captain, managed to rally the troops. Regrettably, this meant that, since we were surrounded and still outnumbered, we were captured.

_Joy. _

(Kuronue POV)

I glared at anyone that tried to give us a second look as sashimi head dragged us through the gates of Gandara. Captured by Yomi's guards. Perfect… the blind bastard would probably try to execute us. Me, at least. If he figured out Shuichi used to be Youko, then the kid would probably end up living, but stuck with Yomi. Either way, I was probably being pulled to my death.

Might as well have fun with it.

"Hey, punk-fish. Do you think Yomi's gonna consider letting us go?"

He stopped and turned to face me. "Address your betters as you should, bat. My name is Captain Saatchi, and you will call him _Lord _Yomi."

"Yeah, yeah, sushi-man. Who pissed in your pond?" I said, bringing my bound hands behind my head. I could tell under his red scales that he was turning even angrier, and the beady yellow eyes glaring at me were definitely helping my point. I glanced at Shuichi out of the corner of my eye, and saw him grinning, though he was trying to hide it and look at me sternly instead. I winked, and continued. "But really, don't you think that Yomi will let us go? I mean, we were just walking through the woods…"

"Those woods are part of _Lord Yomi's _territory," he grit out. "You were trespassing."

"I thought those woods belonged to Youko and Kuronue?" the kid asked. Kudos to him for thinking to try and hide who I was. "Kire, that's what you told me." Pseudonym too… good, kid, real good.

Saatchi laughed. "Youko and Kuronue? That pair of demons hasn't been heard from for sixteen years, human. Youko died, and Kuronue hasn't been seen since."

Shuichi nodded innocently. "So Lord Yomi took over their land after the two's death, then?"

"That's right, human. Those thieves were encroaching on Lord Yomi's territory long before their deaths. Good riddance, I say." He tugged on the leads that came from our hands sharply. "Enough. The lord will see you now."

"I hope you mean figuratively when you say 'see', cat food." I said flippantly, following him. He glared at me again, and yanked harder than necessary and pushed me into the throne room.

Yomi looked more refined than when I saw him last. Instead of the white tunic and pants that he used to wear, he now wore fine robes of blue. His eyes remained closed the whole time, and his hair was longer, and looked silkier. Otherwise, he hadn't changed much.

He looked up as Shuichi was brought into the room behind me. A look of recognition spread across his face, and I mentally cursed as he glanced back over at me with a frustrated expression on his face.

Fugu needled me, then Shuichi in the back with his trident. "We captured these two trespassing on your territory, Lord Yomi. One of the bamboo traps. We weren't sure what to do with them, as one of them is human, so we brought them to you."

I fluidly stood, and took a step forward. "You seem to be doing well for yourself, Yomi." I said, completely relaxed. I could almost hear fishy growling behind me.

He sighed deeply. "I thought it might be you, Kuronue. So who are you?" he asked, taking a step down from the throne and walking towards Shuichi. "The Kuronue I knew would never associate with humans. Either you are not as mortal as you pretend to be, or the bat has gone soft."

I stiffened indignantly, and was about to open my mouth to retort, but Shuichi beat me to it. "I assure you," he said smoothly, "that my old friend Kuronue has not gone soft. And what of you? Has the life of a king made you lose your edge, Yomi?" Rising, he moved to stand in front of a shell-shocked Yomi.

I was surprised as well. He'd remembered? Or was he acting? If he was acting, he was really, _really, _good at it. I mentally shrugged, deciding, _Well, he was Youko, and Youko could __talk his way out of everything._

My attention was torn back to Yomi as he took a few steps towards Shuichi. "Y-Youko?"

"In the flesh." He laughed slightly, low, in the back of his throat. "Well, in a way. I sent my soul to the human world and possessed a child still in the womb. What stands before you is the result." I saw Shuichi shrug. "I was training and familiarizing myself with the demon world again when you caught us. I was under the impression that the land we were wandering on still belonged to me and Kuro?"

I blinked. _Kuro? Only Youko ever called me Kuro… _While I was preoccupied with this fact, Yomi had stepped forward and hugged Shuichi, who quickly, though gently, pushed him away. "You must stay in my home for a while!" Yomi said, sounding excited. Completely unlike the Yomi I once knew, who, as I've said before, was an emotionless bastard. "I'll have quarters prepared for you two at once. Ayumi!" A cute young cat with brown hair ran in and bowed swiftly.

"Yes, milord?"

"Prepare rooms for these two immediately!"

"Of course, sir." She bowed again, and retreated.

Carefully, Shuichi eased out a hidden leaf and sawed through his bonds. "Your guards tie really good knots," he said absently, walking over to me and cutting the ropes. "When will our rooms be ready?"

"Most of my guest rooms are empty, but I have a few I keep ready at all times. Soon enough, old friend, soon enough."

"Sir," a stunned voice spoke up from behind me. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"Are you questioning me, Saatchi?" he asked, reverting back to his emotionless self. Mood swings much? Scaleface seemed to take the hint and was quiet.

A few minutes later, and Ayumi ran back in, and bowed. "The rooms you requested are ready, sir."

Yomi motioned us on and retreated to his throne. "It is wonderful to have found you again, Youko. But I must continue to oversee the rabble brought to me. We will talk later."

Completely flabbergasted, I followed Shuichi out of the throne room, down the twisting halls, and to a suite of comfortable rooms. He thanked Ayumi, who bowed and left the room. He turned around and walked to the bed, sitting on it. "I suppose you might want some sort of explanation, right?"

"That would be helpful."

He shrugged. "Actually, I just thought it would be useful not to get killed. The whole thing was flying blind. Do you think it worked?"

I almost fell over from shock. "You are _insane, _you know that?"

"Insane and lucky," he said, grinning. "So it did work?"

"Almost had me convinced. You're good, I'll give you that." I sighed, flopping onto the mattress beside him. "A little scary. You know, you're beginning to act more and more like him…"

"What?"

"Youko kept all of his plants in his hair. You're moving less and less like a clumsy human."

"I'm not clumsy!"

"You were always more graceful than other humans, weren't you? But now… in that fight with Hiei, especially. Do you think that a human would have been able to jump eight feet _backwards?" _I fell silent. "And you called me Kuro. Youko was the only one I ever let do that." I shrugged, and rolled off of the bed. "Do you think we're going to have to share a bed?"

He yelped, formerly thoughtful face turning red. I laughed. "I'm sure we were given a double suite. You keep this room, I'll go to the other one." I yawned loudly. "It's been a long day, kid," I said, ruffling his hair. "Get some rest. We'll keep training tomorrow."

"Good night, Kuro," he called after me hesitantly.

Surprised, I turned around, and then smiled softly. "Good night, Shuichi."


	8. Chapter 7: Not you!

Storm: Hey everybody! I've finished the seventh chapter! go me::does happy dance:: Anyway, there are a few notes at the end of the chapter.

(Kuronue POV—next morning)

I was blissfully surrounded by beautiful women (one of which had familiar red hair and green eyes), when I was wrenched from the Land of Dreams by a scream from the next room.

I immediately leapt from the bed and dashed into Shuichi's quarters, speeding up as I heard a muffled _whoomph_. I skidded to a halt in the door way, observing the formerly clean room. It was now yellow, completely covered in a fine powder. I sneezed.

Pollen.

"I'm sorry!" Shuichi immediately apologized. "It was an accident. I swear, I just wanted to tie him up!"

"Tie _who _up?!" I wasn't sure that I _wanted _to know what I had walked in on anymore.

Quaking, he pointed a finger at a demon tied up on the floor. He would be tall, if he was standing, had long black hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. A demon bomber. Joy.

I sighed. "Let him up, Shuichi. If you don't, he'll—" I was cut off by an explosion. "Never mind."

The vines fell away from the bomber, and he stood gracefully. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself properly. My name is Karasu, and Yomi sent me to… keep you out of trouble." I could sense the smirk behind his mask as he calmly wiped the butterfly glasses of powder.

I looked to Shuichi expectantly for an explanation. At least he had the decency to look ashamed. "I woke up with him sitting on the end of my bed. I panicked!"

"So…" Karasu mused aloud. I _really _didn't like the way he was looking at Shuichi. "Youko Kurama is just a little kit, now. This will be interesting. With the show you put on yesterday, I was convinced that Youko was back from the dead. Let's hear the truth, and maybe I won't tell Yomi."

I opened my mouth to bluff, or try to distract him, or _something, _but all that came out was a sneeze. I glanced at Shuichi, and he went slightly pink before suggesting that we move to my room. I nodded, and gestured for Karasu to go first. No way in _hell _was I letting him behind me, or Shuichi. I could tell he was smirking again, but he gave me an ironic bow and left the room. The two of us followed, my mind working to come up with a brilliant story.

I sat on the bed, the kid took the desk chair, and Crow's-feet simply leaned against the wall. "Well, you see," I immediately started, before the kid could do or say anything stupid, such as tell the truth, "Shuichi here is Youko's illegitimate child. His mom's a human (he takes after her), and was one of the… women… he slept with. So I found him when I thought that I felt Youko's energy signature, cause his is really similar. And…" I trailed off, because both of them were looking at me like I was insane. "And…"

"Kuro, stop while you're ahead." Shuichi said, shaking his head.

"Right then…" When did I go British? Ah well…

"The _truth _is what I said yesterday to Yomi," Shuichi said, turning to Karasu, "Youko somehow ended up being basically reincarnated as me. The only problem… is that I don't remember _being _Youko. I'm starting to, which is probably the only reason my acting worked so well, but I don't have any concrete memories yet. Well, one, but it's not really important, just Kuro and I getting lost. It was Kuro's fault of course." He ignored my indignant shout. "But please don't tell Yomi. I have a feeling he wouldn't take that well…"

Karasu nodded thoughtfully. "I won't tell. But…"

"Great, are you going to blackmail us?" I complained. "Because we haven't stolen anything yet, so I don't see what you have to gain from it."

"No, I'm not going to blackmail you," the bomber said, stepping gracefully away from the wall. "And I won't let Yomi know. At least, as long as this problem keeps things interesting. I was thinking of moving on soon. Yomi's palace is rather… _boring_ lately. But this… _this _will be fun for me. I'll see how this plays out."

Shuichi blinked, then smirked slightly. "I see. As long as we entertain you, then you'll play along."

"Yes," he crooned, stepping a bit closer to Shuichi than I liked. "That's a very good way of putting it, little kit. I see that you are as smart as your predecessor was rumored to be. That'll be useful for you… Very useful indeed." He glanced at my face and chuckled slightly, at what, I'm not sure.

"Enough talk," I snapped, annoyed for no reason that I knew of. "When do we get breakfast?"

(Kurama POV)

I stared at my plate. It stared back. I pushed it to one side, trying to ignore the rolling eyeball that Yomi was eating with gusto. _Maybe he thinks that eating other people's eyes will give him his sight back… _I mused, more than a little disgusted. The sound of the plate scraping on the table brought Yomi's attention to me. "Something wrong, Youko?"

"I'm a fox. I don't eat… _eyes." _I said, as loftily as I could. I motioned to one of the servants standing by the wall. "May I have some seeds for a fruit bearing plant, please?" The man nodded, and left. I noticed Yomi cocking his head to the side quizzically as he overheard the short exchange. "There's less of a chance of me being poisoned by something I grow myself," I explained.

He chuckled. "You always were paranoid."

Kuronue nodded, finishing off his third… I think he called them zikklefruits. To me, they looked like multicolored apples.

A few minutes later, a platter with a few seeds on it was brought out and over to me. I quickly picked them all up, inserting three into my hair as I held the last one, a small, oblong red kernel in my hand. With a bit of concentration, I placed it on the floor and convinced it to grow. Soon, a small tree stood by my chair, and I plucked a fruit off of it. It was long, tapered at one end, and looked oddly like… a fox tail.

It was now that I heard a single noise. Clapping? _What? _

The servant that had brought the tray was staring in awe at the tree I had grown, and was slowly applauding. A couple of other people joined in, and before any others could, I pinned the offenders with the best death glare I could manage.

Immediate silence.

I continued to glare, just to be on the safe side, and then turned back to the table. I saw Yomi smirking out of the corner of my eye, and bit into the tail to try and ignore him. It tasted… good, if a little odd, and I quickly finished it off. One fox-tail-fruit-thing was more than enough for me, since I never really ate in the morning anyway.

I shrunk the tree again, placing the seed into my hair where it joined the other ones. I glanced at the servants who had been clapping earlier, making sure to prevent any more applauding. The man took a step back. I smirked, and leaned back into my chair.

Breakfast was quickly finished, and Yomi took his leave of us to attend to his duties as lord of Gandara. Before leaving, he explained that Karasu would guide us around the castle, as things prevented him from doing so himself.

At last, he left.

Karasu motioned to us, and after glancing at Kuronue, I followed him out, knowing that Kuro would file behind me.

We were quickly and efficiently led through the kitchens, the secondary kitchens, the tertiary kitchens, the main corridor, the secondary main corridor, the north gardens, the south gardens, the west wing, the east wing, the wing-that-is-slightly-west-of-the-east-wing-but-not-so-much-as-the-actual-west-wing, and on, and on, and on…

I was lost within fifteen minutes. But I lasted longer than Kuronue, who had swirly eyes after five.

At last, Karasu began to lead us down. "Yomi asked me to show you what would happen if you decided to cross him," he said, shrugging and with an altogether mischievous twinkle to his eye. "These are the dungeons."

A little disconcerted, but refusing to show it, I walked through a dark hallway, tentatively following Kuronue, who almost disappeared into the darkness. Faintly, I could hear insane giggling from one cell, and moaning from another.

"Hey!" I heard a shout from one of the cells. "We weren't doing anything wrong! We were just looking for someone, that's all! Hey! Can anyone hear me?!"

"Stop whining, buffoon. There is no one there. Shut up and let me go back to sleep."

"Will you two stop fighting? Kuwabara, Hiei, I'm seriously fed up with your macho sh—" the rather familiar voice stopped as Kuronue froze in front of a cell. "Oi! Kuronue! What the hell are you doing down here, buddy?"

I tried to stay out of the light as much as I could, but I got too close to a cell on the opposite wall. "The fox is here as well," I heard Hiei sneer. "And he still can't hide his energy signal." A small ball of anger flared in my chest, but I stamped it down.

"Wait, that Youko person's _here?_" I heard Yusuke exclaim, incredulous. I saw the dim figure move closer to the bars, and a hulking figure behind him as well. Kuwabara and Yusuke, then.

"Bet he's working for the blind guy," the other human said, and this time I didn't bother hiding the fact that his comment had ticked me off.

Without really knowing why I was so angry, or why I stalked up to the bars of the cell and glared through them, or why I was pleased that he looked terrified, I snarled, "I work for no one, man or demon. If you even _think _to suggest that again, then it will be the last thing you ever do. I work for myself, and only myself, and if I deigned to work _with _someone, then it would not be a blind old fool like Yomi. Understand?"

"So you've 'remembered' more, then?" I heard Hiei scoff from behind me, and I turned, snapping out of it. Why was I so angry? That comment shouldn't have elicited that reaction from me. I hadn't meant to scare Kuwabara, it was all just… automatic. Like I wasn't completely in control of my body. For a split second, the fear at that thought tore my walls down, and the surprised look on Hiei's face assured me that he noticed.

Mentally, I quickly slammed everything back into place. Coolly, I looked at the shorter demon. "Yes, I have." Turning, I said to Karasu, "Thank you for showing us the palace, but would you please lead us back to our rooms?"

He was looking at me with a curious expression on his face, before he smiled. "So far, so good!" he said, disturbingly cheerful. "Come on, this way then."

As we walked away, I could hear Kuwabara and Yusuke break out of their apparent stupor and start shouting after us not to leave. The only comment I really heard was Kuwabara yelling, "Wait, no, I didn't mean it!!"

(Kuronue POV—a few days later)

It was a few days later when things came to a head. We were in the middle of lunch when Yomi asked Shuichi a question. I didn't catch it, exactly, but whatever it was, he answered immediately, before stiffening slightly. When we excused ourselves, he seemed more nervous, and he didn't go out to the gardens or the library like he normally did, but back to our room instead.

So here I was, watching as Shuichi paced back and forth like a caged animal, slightly annoyed. He was making me twitchy just by watching him. "Will you stop it?" I snapped, finally fed up. I seized him by the arm and forced him to sit on the bed. "What is wrong with you? You've been acting weird since we saw the detective and company in the dungeons, and twitchy since lunch. You skipped breakfast, and I know you don't usually eat, but you _do _usually show up! What is going on, Shuichi?"

He looked at me completely calmly, practically no expression on his face. "I think I'm going insane."

…

…

WHAT?!

Storm: Well, that's the end for the seventh chapter. And yes, that is a slight cliffhanger. The mentions of zikklefruit and tsuki-tail-fruit do not belong to me, they are both copyrighted to chizu of starbits, a great pet website. I and a friend thought it would be great if I used the names and designs for demon world fruit, we did ask permission, so any bitans, don't get mad!

if anyone would like to check out the site, it's at [.www. star bits pets. com. Just take out the spaces. It's a great site centered on pet upkeep and roleplaying. Hope you like the chapter, see you next time!

oh, wait, one more thing. Sorry if the eyeballs thing creeped anyone out, I was just trying to show that demons aren't all nice people. I don't know, I can almost see Yomi eating the things... ::Shudder:: So, the Spirit Detectives reappear too. Don't worry, they'll be out of the dungeons before long.

Oh, and for those of you wondering, Kuronue just kinda left Hiei there a few chapters ago. Yeah::sweatdrop:: Not exactly nicest person, is he?

That was several more things, wasn't it? Ah, well... Later!


	9. Chapter 8: Life and Death

(Kuronue POV)

"What do you mean?" I asked, still confused. I mean, come on, it's not often that your friend tells you that they think they're going insane. At least, not in complete and total honesty. And not about themselves. I mean, Youko told me several times he thought _I _was insane, but what friend doesn't? What is it that I've heard humans say before… Ah yes, "If you don't think your friends are crazy, then the friendship probably has room to deepen." It might have been weird instead of crazy… and it might have been "if you think your friends are _normal…"_

But I digress. Back to Shuichi.

He was looking at me, still with that calm detachment that I sometimes saw on Youko when he was especially worried about something. "I mean exactly what I said. I think I am going insane."

"Any particular reason _why?" _I demanded, sitting down in the desk chair and readying myself for a rather lengthy talk.

"Remember the incident in the dungeons when Kuwabara accused me of working for Yomi?" he asked. A flash of anger entered his eyes, before he closed them, clearly trying to calm himself. _That still makes him mad? _I wondered, a little surprised. "That… wasn't the way I normally would have reacted."

"You were pissed. Everyone loses their temper at one time or another, Shuichi, it doesn't matter."

"This time it does. Kuronue…" for a moment, he sounded desperate. "Kuro, I don't know _why _I was angry. It was a logical assumption to make. They went looking for me, were caught by Yomi, see me in Yomi's _dungeons… _Logical. I shouldn't have been mad. Offended, perhaps, disgusted with the idea, maybe. But not angry enough to want to _hurt _him!" He looked down, hands gripping the sheets. "And it's not just that. You know how sometimes you don't know where a thought came from?"

"Yeah…"

"That's happened to me four times today. And at lunch, I had no clue what he was talking about, but I opened my mouth anyway, and just…"

"What did he ask you, anyway? I missed it…"

"If I remembered when the two of us went on our first heist. He was thinking about it for some reason, and asked." He shook his head slightly. "I didn't, but when I started to respond, I acted like I did. It was like… it was like it wasn't me." He looked up at me again, clearly scared. "I don't know what's going on, Kuro. It started as acting, but I'm slipping into it more and more lately. Even around you, and you know I haven't remembered everything."

I nodded, thinking, or trying to think, objectively. Shuichi had only ever heard about Youko, he hadn't remembered what the fox was actually like. He might even be scared of himself… If that _was _the case, then he might not want to remember. Could he have created another personality for himself, one that had the memories, and acted like what he thought Youko would act like?

I didn't know for sure, I was just guessing. I wasn't exactly a shrink, or philosopher, or completely sane myself. I think humans call it… ADD? Or was it ADHD? I mentally sighed, deciding I'd swiped too many psychology books from Shuichi's room.

Deciding to keep this to myself, I stood and stretched, reaching out a hand to pat his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure you're as sane as anyone else. Whatever is going on, I'm sure it'll pass once we're out of this stupid castle. Has Yomi mentioned to you how much longer we have to stay here?"

Shuichi relaxed slightly, shaking his head. "No, nothing yet. I can ask, but I don't want to seem rude. He seems reluctant to let me go, though I get the sense he could do without you," he finished, smiling slightly.

I laughed. "Yeah, well, that's just cause he wants to jump you." I laughed again at the disturbed and disgusted look on his face.

"No thank you. I'm already sick of him," he halfway growled.

"No argument here," I said, flopping into the desk chair across from the bed where Shuichi sat. "I've been sick of him for decades."

"So you've known him for a while?" he wondered, lazily looking at me from the corner of his eye, a _too _innocent look in them.

"Yeah," I started to say, then realized that he was trying to trick things out of me again. I sighed, more than a little exasperated. "You can just _ask _me, you know."

He dropped the act, smiling up at me instead. "But this way's so much more fun!"

I rolled my eyes now, complaining, "You can be so… _juvenile _sometimes."

"Oh, and you're just the epitome of maturity, aren't you?" he shot back, the ingenuous smile abruptly changing into a smirk.

I glared at him, a witty retort on the tip of my tongue (A/N: Liar.), when someone knocked on the door. Not waiting for an answer, the person I least wanted to see (after Yomi), Karasu, waltzed into the room. "I couldn't help but overhear your small dispute," he began. I snorted. Yeah, right.

He shot me a _look _and smirked. "And I just wanted to say that if you need any psychiatric help…" he continued, slinking over to the bed and sitting next to Shuichi, "my couch is always open," he finished, placing an arm around his shoulder and leaning in, looking for all the world like he was about to kiss the kid.

"Thank you…" Shuichi said, voice a little more high pitched than usual from anxiety, "but no thank you. I'm sure I can manage." Awkwardly, he tried to free himself from the bomber's arm, but the bastard didn't move. Giving a low chuckle, he released him after a moment longer of him struggling. Immediately, Shuichi came and stood by _my _chair.

"What's your _real _reason for being here?" I snapped, slightly annoyed. He smirked again, looking like he was indulging me… making me want to rip his throat out, of course.

"Lord Yomi sent me to invite you to take tea with him on the north balcony. There's to be a public execution of one of his prisoners. I believe the Italian humans call it a… _mazzolato_It should be entertaining, at least." He shrugged, and strolled out the door.

(Kurama POV)

I felt sick almost instantly. Public execution might be thought of as a spectator sport in the _demon _world, but to me the practice had died out decades ago. What had he called it again? A _mazzolato_The word was familiar, but I couldn't remember from which book I'd read it…

Slightly on autopilot, I allowed Kuronue to convince me to go see it. He was right, if I didn't, Yomi would start to suspect something. I need to be Youko for thisRight. Reverting back to a centuries-old demon's mindset. _Simple._

The balcony that Karasu led us to overlooked a large courtyard, empty except for a wooden platform raised a few feet above the ground. There were a few pieces of wrought iron furniture scattered about the balcony: a table, a bench, and a chair. Saatchi, the guard that had first captured Kuronue and me, stood behind Yomi, who was already sitting, leaving the bench for the two of us.

Regaining some of my calm, I followed Kuro over to the seat and sat, asking as absently as I could, "Who is to be executed?"

Yomi's eyes twitched, as if he would have blinked had they been able to open. "I'm not entirely sure. Saatchi, who is it?"

"A human I found wandering the woods, my lord. He is an insult to you in his very existence," the captain said, sweeping him a bow.

I gulped slightly, feeling sick again. Just because he was human, he was to be killed? Kuronue gave me a discreet, worried look, but I just motioned for him not to worry. Our nonverbal communication had gotten much better in the time we had spent in Yomi's castle…

I wrenched my mind back to the present, knowing I was thinking of other things to distract myself. I needed to focus. Yomi was dangerous, one slip and the two of us would be joining the detectives in the dungeons. Focus on convincing him.

I swallowed again as the man was led out by a rope binding his hands together. Heavy chains were wrapped around his feet, barely leaving room for him to walk. He'd obviously been severely beaten, probably left in the cells without food for a while. He had a pronounced limp, and a scraggly beard was beginning to grow. Vacant eyes stared up at the balcony as he was led to the platform. While the three of us had been talking, other demons had filed into the parade ground and had formed a ring around the platform, cheering for the man's death.

The crowd fell silent as another figure emerged onto the grounds. The executioner, dragging a heavy mace behind him, walked towards the platform.

There was no reaction from the condemned man as the demon strode towards him. He seemed to be searching the skies, praying for redemption. His eyes finally settled on the balcony where we sat, and a shiver seemed to run through him as his eyes met mine. "You…" I saw him mouth, and then "Help!"

I shuddered myself, forcing my eyes away from the man's. I watched as the executioner stood behind him and raised the mace. I understood suddenly what was about to happen to him, remembering the description from a book I'd read for literature class. Shutting my eyes immediately, I heard a sickening crunch as the mace collided with his head. I tried to ignore the cries of encouragement from the demon rabble below.

"Youko?" I heard Yomi's cool, emotionless voice ask me. "Open your eyes, you're going to miss the grand finale."

Not sure why, I weakly managed to force open my eyes again, just in time to see blood flowing from the man's slit throat. It was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

(Kuronue's POV)

I managed to get Shuichi back to our rooms alright, but not without some very… interesting explanations.

"What happened?" Yomi demanded almost immediately, having heard the kid collapse against me. I was sorry to say that I had been too absorbed in the execution to notice how horrible Shuichi had been feeling until his head had come to rest against my shoulder. Morbid fascination aside, I was kicking myself for being so oblivious.

"I think he had some bad fruit or something," I offered half-heartedly, trying to figure out a way out of this for the both of us and making sure that he was okay at the same time.

"Yet he grows all of his own food, and refuses to let anyone else prepare it for him…" Yomi said doubtfully.

Damn. "Well… he's not quite used to the fruit of the Demon plane yet. He's been living in the Human world for the last sixteen years, after all," I said, laughing nervously.

"He's been used to it for the past two weeks." Yomi stated, severe and strict now.

Dammit, Shuichi, you're better at lying than I am! How dare you faint and cause this whole problem in the first place?! "Er, well, I…" I gulped, and then said, nervously. "I think I'd better take him back to his room…" Not waiting for a response, I gathered the still unconscious teen up and began to walk back to our rooms.

"I'll have Karasu bring him some tea later," he said, looking back down at the parade ground and watching as the body was taken away and the platform cleared of the blood.

I nodded, just thankful to get out of there.

It was a few hours later when Shuichi finally woke up again. I was pacing back and forth when he stirred on the bed. Immediately, I was helping him sit up. "You okay?" I asked. He'd be fine, I knew he was strong, but it still seemed more polite to ask.

As I expected, he nodded, even though he still looked a bit green. "What happened?" he whispered, voice slightly hoarse.

"You passed out during the execution," I started, but he cut me off, shaking his head.

"No, what happened between you and Yomi?" he demanded, voice stronger now, "My fainting caused problems, I know that. How did you manage? Tell me what you said as close as you can."

I couldn't remember the exact wording of everything, but I remembered enough to make him look worried. He stood and started pacing, waving me off. I guess I was still a bit worried about how he was, since he seemed to be wobbly still.

"This isn't good," he muttered, still pacing. I had taken the bed, sitting cross-legged on it as I watched him turn and walk the other way. Shuichi looked at me, saying bluntly, "You're a horrible liar when you don't have something prepared, aren't you?" He sighed, shaking his head. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded, Kuro. Sorry." He turned again, and then stopped and stood there, thinking. "We need to get out of here, and soon. Yomi knows by now that I'm not actually Youko, so there's no reason for us to stay here for much longer. We ought to be able to find a cave, a den, _something _and hide out for a while. From there, I don't know…"

I sighed, putting my head in my hand as he fell silent, still thinking, head down and with his arms crossed.

(Kurama POV)

I raised my head, about to ask Kuronue what he thought we ought to do, when I saw his eyes widen abruptly. "Shui—" he managed to choke out, eyes focused on a point over my shoulder. I spun, just in time to get a face full of hot tea. It wasn't boiling, thankfully, but it did sting a bit.

I sputtered, wiping my face until the liquid was cleared from my eyes. I glared up at Karasu, who was looking at me innocently, empty clay cup in hand. "What was _that _for?" I demanded.

Karasu shrugged nonchalantly. "Herbal tea to soothe your upset stomach, of course."

Right. Somehow, I didn't believe him.

"Anyway," Karasu said, strolling over to sit on the bed opposite Kuro. "You were supposed to _drink _it, but that just seemed too… cliché."

"Wait." I said, pausing and wiping more tea off my face with my sleeve. "Drink _what_?"

"Although," Karasu added, studying me and completely ignoring my question. "I never expected it to work so quickly."

I was beginning to get very uncomfortable with the whole situation. "What is going _on?_" I demanded, annoyed with my position in general. I had hot tea all over my face, I hadn't felt, or even heard, Karasu come in, and he wasn't explaining what it was that I was supposed to drink.

I looked at Kuronue, who was staring at me with wider eyes than he had had already. I took a step forward, wondering why he looked so shocked. "Kuro?" I asked instead.

That seemed to snap him out of whatever was wrong. "Tsukiyomi…" he breathed, then turned suddenly to Karasu, demanding of him, "What the hell did you give him?"

I ran my hand through my hair, exasperated and trying to calm my tingling scalp. I felt slightly dizzy, too, almost like I wanted to faint again. Stubbornly, I stayed on my feet, my eyes watering suddenly for no reason. They didn't hurt…

Karasu didn't answer Kuronue, just smiled slightly as he continued to study me with that highly amused expression on his face. I bit my lip, trying to force panic back. _Why _was he looking at me like that? Kuronue suddenly stood, and grabbed Karasu by the arm, roughly pulling him to the door and forcing him out of it. "If you won't tell me what you did to him, you're absolutely useless. _Get_ _out_."

His voice held no room for argument, and the crow was quickly deposited outside and the door none too gently shut in his face.

My whole body was tingling now, and I knew the first steps of shock were setting in. I'd been poisoned? By Yomi, obviously. I hugged myself tightly, rubbing at my arms, trying to stop the tingling. I was surprised when Kuronue immediately went to me and hugged me tightly. He took a step back gripping my arms as well and studying me almost the same way that Karasu had. "Shuichi?" he asked hesitantly.

"What?" I started to ask, then cleared my throat and tried again. Something was wrong with my voice… it was deeper than it should have been. I looked up at Kuronue again, even more scared. "Kuronue, what-?" I didn't get to finish my question before he gently turned me to face the mirror hanging on the wall.

Silver hair, amber eyes wide with fear and set in a face whose features were more angular and narrow than mine were. My eyes widened even more, and I took a step back, running into Kuronue. "T-That's not me," I denied, shaking my head and trying to convince myself. Wordlessly, he took a lock of my hair, bringing it in front of my face to show me the color—silver.

I could feel the tingling becoming more pronounced and I broke away from Kuronue to hold my head as the feeling changed again, almost painful now. The pain was centered on the sides and top of my head and the base of my back, and I stumbled as I tried to walk to the bed. I needed to lie down, I was losing my balance.

Kuronue caught me again, saying softly, "You might not want to sit just yet." I nodded, not really understanding why not, but then the pain and tingling stopped, and I stopped leaning on him carefully, checking my balance. I blinked at Kuronue, who now stood on eye-level with me. He looked _pained, _almost, and a little scared.

"I'm Youko, aren't I?" I asked uncertainly, suddenly realizing why he looked like he'd seen a ghost. He just nodded slightly still staring at me, and then hugged me again. This time, I hugged him back. Kuronue led me to the bed to give me somewhere to sit, since I was leaning on him fairly heavily.

Curiously, I angled myself toward the mirror, wanting to see what I had looked like. It was the same as before, basically, though now there was a pair of silver furry fox ears emerging from my hair, and the baggy robes that I had been dressed in before were a bit short now. Looking down at myself, I noticed a fox tail curled into my lap. I ran one clawed hand along it, shuddering at the strange sensation as I stroked my own tail. I flicked it behind me, and looked back over at Kuronue. "I'm as tall as you now," I said, smiling slightly.

(Kuronue POV)

It was like staring at a ghost. Youko was sitting beside me, and all I wanted to do was hug him yet again, but I knew that Shuichi would start wondering why I was acting so strange. I couldn't figure out what part of this whole situation I found the scariest. Watching him change, seeing Youko exactly as he had been, or Karasu not telling me what he'd done. I still had no clue _what _was in that tea.

He was looking at me with a concerned expression on his face, something that seemed odd on _Youko_but not on Shuichi. "You okay?"

"Fine. Just… what do I call you now?" I said, regaining some of my joking style.

An ear twitched, and he looked thoughtful. "Good question. I'm not Youko—mentally, at least—and I'm not physically Shuichi. Kurama, maybe? Or you could just stick with Shuichi."

"I never thought you looked like a Shuichi," I said, continuing to joke with him a bit. "Why not Yokarachi?" He laughed, shooting me a playful glare and leaning back on his hands. "Kurama it is." I conceded, pretending to be scared of his glare.

He laughed again, and then cocked his head and one ear curiously at me. "What do we do now, though?"

I grinned widely, standing to face him. Spreading my arms and wings wide, I told him, "What else? We plot our escape!"


	10. Escaping Memories

(Kuronue POV)

Two shadows moved across the wall, one with fox ears, one with bat wings. I smirked to myself, glancing out the window to look at the sickle shaped moon. It felt good to be on the prowl again.

Shu-- _Kurama, _now, I reminded myself-- Kurama was doing a pretty good job for all that this was his first "heist" that he remembered. It was more of a break _out, _but whatever.

"You okay?" I hissed, and Kurama paused.

"As well as can be expected. Down?"

I nodded, and we turned deeper into the castle. "Do we _have _to save the team…?" I whined inaudibly, knowing that he would hear me anyway.

A curt nod, and a whispered, "They're your teammates, even if they tried to kill us," were my only answers.

"Fine, fine," I grumbled to myself, following him down into the dungeons.

"Kuro?" he asked as we passed cell after dank cell. "I don't know how to pick locks."

"I'll manage that. Remind me to teach you some time." A nod, and our communication stopped then. I almost laughed when I saw him stiffen at a sudden comment from the darkness.

"Wake up, you fools. There's someone here!"

Ah, I'd know that sulky, snarky voice anywhere. "Hiei-chan!" I cooed happily, stepping closer to the bars. "I was wondering if you'd wake up or if I'd have to do that for you."

"Kuronue!" Yusuke seemed surprised. "What the hell--?"

"Jail break, anyone?" I teased playfully. "We've over stayed our welcome, and Kurama insisted on being noble." I mock sighed, glancing playfully at him.

"Kuronue," he reminded me, ears flicked back into 'embarrassed.'

"Right, locks. Hiei, melt that one, would you?" I turned to the humans' cell, and started working on the lock.

"Idiot. I can't." Practically able to _feel _his glare, I rolled my eyes.

"Wards? Honestly, Hiei-chan… you need to be more careful about what kind of cells you let them put you in." A growl was my only answer, and I was about to start needling him again, when a hand brushed my wings. I shivered slightly and turned to see Kurama shake his head.

Sighing, I returned to the humans' lock. Damn him for being right… We needed to get out of here before I teased Hiei anymore. And dodging flames would just hurt our chances of dodging things from the actual enemy.

There was a click as the door swung outwards, and the two idiots--who surprisingly had the sense to be quiet--filed out. Another, just as quiet click behind me had me turning worriedly. I blinked. "Hey, you said you couldn't do that!"

Kurama stood beside the jail cell, watching a bit of vine shrink, before replacing the seed into his hair. "Experimentation, Kuronue," he said softly. "It's easy enough to grow a vine into the lock and twist. Let's _go." _

"Go somewhere with the demon we've been trying to catch?!" Kuwabara yelped. "No way, no how. Urameshi, you're the detective guy! Arrest him!"

Kurama tilted his head to one side, studying the detective. "Urameshi-san--" he started.

Yusuke shook his head. "Don't start trying to trick me or anything, fox-boy," he muttered. "And it's just Yusuke. We'll figure out what we're doing with you when we get back to the Human World."

I grinned. Ah, trust the detective to be too noble. Hiei glared after him, thoughts probably along similar lines. The five of us filed out, heading to the doors on the upper levels.

We were outside before any trouble happened.

"Step carefully," I warned the three of them who weren't-- or couldn't remember-- being thieves as we crossed the parade ground. "We'll go over the wall. The gate's bound to be warded, so don't touch it--"

Too late. The buffoon had already made to open it, apparently not hearing me. Kurama tried to stop him, but lights clicked on, illuminating a few dozen youkai standing on the parapet.

"Damnit," I cursed under my breath, before raising my voice. "All right, you melodramatic bastard! Show yourself!" Clearly, Yomi was going to make a dramatic entrance. I abruptly remembered why the two of us had quit working with the upstart…

You know, sometimes I really hate it when I'm right. Yomi took his place on the balcony-- the same balcony, I realized, that we had watched the execution from. I glanced to my left. Great, there was the blood stain, right where Kurama was. I felt slightly sick. The set up was as if Yomi was planning to execute Kurama-- execute all of us.

I swallowed, and started trying to figure out exactly what I was going to do to get the five of us out of this mess. Hiei and I could take the guards, no problem, but Yomi and Karasu would present more of a fight. Much more.

"Why in such a rush, Kuronue?" he called down, completely in control. I resisted the urge to growl.

"Well, _milord," _I sneered as scathingly as possible, "We wouldn't want to overstay our welcome. I'm afraid we really must get going."

"And I fear I cannot permit that," the demon lord replied, raising his hand. A dozen cross bows were aimed at us. "For treason against the ruler of this territory, trespassing, and impersonating the dead, I sentence the five of you to death. Fire."

All five of us had scattered as soon as Yomi had finished speaking-- Kuwabara and Yusuke had run towards the balcony, hoping to avoid arrows that way, Kurama and I to had fled right, Hiei to the left.

A dozen fingers pulled the trigger. A dozen arrows flew… And eleven arrows missed their targets.

The only arrow that had even hit one of us had grazed Kurama's leg-- not deep enough to be much of a bother, more of a graze, really, but painful. Seeing the dazed look in Kurama's eyes, I forcefully reminded myself for the nth time since Karasu had dumped that tea over the redhead: _this wasn't Youko. _Shuichi had never had to deal with a lot of pain, and even in the life and death situations he'd found himself in the last few days, he hadn't ever really been hurt. I cursed under my breath. Shit, this might actually present a problem.

The demon archers had quickly reloaded and locked upon our new positions. Wind picked up in the courtyard, blowing the arrows fired off target. I smirked-- always useful, control of the air. "Detective! The doors!" Slow on the uptake as ever, Yusuke just stood there a moment, before realizing what exactly I meant.

"SHOTGUN!"

The gate exploded in shards of wood from his energy, giving us all the chance to run out. I helped Kurama as best I could with Hiei guarding our backs, and we collectively stumbled into the dark.

Not exactly the quiet, daring escape and jail break I had hoped for. But ah well, can't always get what you want. "Everyone good?" I heard Yusuke ask, and I rolled my eyes. Ever the hero.

"Let's get out of here before we take stock," I growled, striding forward. "Youko and I had a den somewhere around here. We find that, we've got some time."

"Do you know where it _is?" _Snapped Hiei.

I paused awkwardly. "Um-"

"Head North," Kurama said suddenly. I glanced at him in surprise-- his eyes were clear, and back to calculating. He nodded a thanks to me, and I let him go. After testing his balance, the kitsune strode off into the woods, much more confidently than he should have... "Follow me."

I blinked. Well, at least he was over the pain… That was good, right? The rest of the team followed with varying degrees of reluctance, and I trailed behind them, bringing up the rear.

There was a call behind me. _Damn… _They got their act together a lot faster than I thought they would. "MOVE!" I hollered, breaking into a run. They all seemed to get the message and ran as fast as possible. I kept an eye on my student, but he didn't seem to need it. Good, he learned faster than I gave him credit for.

He glanced back at me, and I saw a brief smile flit across his face before he turned back to the front, ducking under a branch and skidding to a stop in front of a vine-draped cliff. "Here," he whispered, and a motion of his hand had the vines peeling away to reveal a tall, foot and a half wide crack. Slipping sideways, he wriggled through.

Yusuke looked at Kuwabara, then Hiei, before shrugging in response to Kuwabara's look of expectation and Hiei's look of apathy. "Well, it's the best bet of survival," he pointed out. "This is the one you were talking about, right Kuronue?"

"… Yeah," I murmured, before slipping into the crack and following Kurama, beginning to wonder.

The going was slow, but I could see well enough in the dark, and remembered where I was going. I was more concerned about our vanguard. The edging along let me think, and I didn't like what I was figuring out. I _needed _to talk to Kurama.

Finally, right around the point people who don't know what they're doing begin to wonder if the crack would ever widen, the walls started slowly drawing away, before the claustrophobia came to a final, sudden end. "Good for the defenses, bad for the mentality," I mumbled, finally turning forward as I entered a wide cavern. I looked around the old place, nostalgia washing over me for a moment as I stepped forward, flopping onto a pile of fur and silks.

Not much about the place had changed. The carnivorous plants that were supposed to keep the not-welcome visitors of bugs and animals out had flourished, and things were pretty much the way I'd left them fifteen years ago.

"Redheaded again?" I asked Kurama, who was looking around the cavern. He nodded, not facing me.

"Kuro," he finally said, turning around after another moment or two. "I need--"

"_Damn, _I thought that thing would never end…" Yusuke groaned entering the cave with a loud echo, before blinking. "Question, fox-boy? Why were you looking like that in the first place?"

Kurama smiled, sitting beside me. "There is apparently some poison that momentarily reverses the… possession, for lack of a better word. It basically allowed me to physically become Youko for a moment."

Yusuke blinked. "Okay, whatever works." Kurama just laughed.

"I'd suggest we rest and recuperate for a while," he said after another moment. Hiei gave a jerk of his head that might have been a nod, and sat in a shadowy corner of the cave. I snorted. I swear, he is the poster boy for the emo movement. Yusuke and Kuwabara carefully sat on a separate pile of furs, speaking in low voices. Yusuke seemed to be threatening his friend with a quick knockout if he didn't shut up and go to sleep.

"How long do you think we should hide? They won't give up for a while, and we need to find the nearest portal back…"

I nodded thoughtfully. Now that I had glanced over, I found that I couldn't easily look away. "Yeah. Um, mind explaining how you knew where--" I was cut off as Kurama leaned over and kissed me.

_What?_

He pulled away after a moment of unresponsive shock on my part. For the first time, I noticed how _old _his eyes looked. Or maybe the wisdom just hadn't been there before…

"I remembered, Kuro. I remembered everything."


End file.
